I don't think Ward Willits was dissatisfied with the construction of his house. The friendship between Wright and Willits continued after the completion of the house. In 1905 Ward and Cecelia Willits joined Wright snd wife Catherine for a trip to Japan. The voyage took 14 days departing on Feb 21 and arriving in Yokohama on March 7. Wrights's ill-treatment of his wife during the voyage and the resulting discomfort between the two couples meant that they largely parted company while in Japan. But it was Wright's abandonment of his wife and family a few years later and the difficulty Willits had collecting on loans he had made to Wright that ended their friendship. But Willits it seems did not sour on his house. He lived in his masterpiece of a Prairie House until his death in 1950.
After a long life with many (6) brand new homes, I finally retired in Phoenix to another new home. (Probably the best architectural arrangement) Where I have lived, now for twenty years. Soon after arriving here I visited Taliesin West. Was I ever disapointed! The place was in such poor condition that I wonder why they let the people in. There was no vandalism, just near total structural decay! The arrangement was nothing remarkable either. Part of the tour included discussion about FLW's training of his students, who lived in small tent like edifices on the grounds. Another part of the tour was how his female partner had her own, semi grand apartment. Seeing your photo of Frank as the Florida dedication (Cape, cain and all) reminded me of my impressions at Talisman west. It was ALL about Frank!! I believe he not only was a lousy architect, he was a real louse of a person!! BTW, the home we really enjoyed the most was a remodeled Barn constructed by the very first settler on Mercer Island WA. And, yes, we had to rebuild the roof, walls and floors. Added Decks, Doors, Windows and fireplace as well. When we left the place was very much like a FLW design.
"Soon after arriving here I visited Taliesin West. Was I ever disappointed! The place was in such poor condition that I wonder why they let the people in.: I first visited it 30 years ago and again about 5 years ago. I have no idea what you're talking about.
Wow! FLW houses in Highland Park! Sounds like paradise! I haven't watched the full video yet, but I think the two storey one will have a lake view. I can just imagine the sunrise over Lake Michigan. And facing west, maybe the sunset thru the trees. And in the summer, the trees providing shade. FLW incorporated the nayural setting wherever he could.
I work on small residential projects. Even a project of 100,000 would have 500 individual purchases. A single purchase might be all the windows. Each window surprisingly has hundreds of parameters. Multiply that up there is potential for tens of thousands of single errors. In addition a project would have dozens of people working for months on end. These errors often occur and the client can see the entire project as a failure because of a few items. I have visited Frank Lloyd Wright homes. They have an extraordinary atmosphere which I cannot understate. FLW used specific geometries such as root 2 which was probably learned in Japan. His buildings are special and this video is unnecessarily petty picking at bits and pieces.
I can't imagine what might have happened if Wright had actually built the Illinois "Mile High" skyscraper. My personal opinion is instead of making him the leading architect of all time (so he imagined), it may very well have doomed himself as one of historys most spectacular failures. For one thing, despite being asked several times he allegedly had refused to compromise his design by putting fire escape accomodations in, stubbornly insisting that fire was impossible in his building.
22:00 I've always wished that one of the big concrete block manufacturers would have picked up on Wright's block designs and produced them in a high quality concrete.
Flw is really the greatest conceptualist architect. Its his concept that made flw the greatest architect. The strength of his structure is left to the concern of structural engineers. Dont blame flw for weakness of strength. Its his concept that we all thankful for him to have him being born on earth.
We are so very thankful for this nuance. Nobody really knows until they experience it themselves. Living in a Wright home isn't meant to be comfortable - it's an adventure - whether you like it or not ;-)
Centainly something that can be informative like Wright mistakes. But lacks of impactfullness with examples that really seem petty. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, thanks for the video.
Dicey engineering and unusual, even strange construction materials and techniques seem to be hallmarks of a FLW house. This guy was the PT Barnum of 20th century architecture.
His wife, Olgivanna, was a hard-core disciple of the grifter, con-artist and scam artist, G. I. Gurdjieff. G. I. Gurdjieff ran a mind control cult in Russian and in France, with spin-offs in major cities such as New York. Frank Lloyd Wright wanted to be a cult leader and modeled Taliesin on Gurdjieff's cult at Prieure de avon in France--including nonsensical manual labor, crazy making exercises, weird dances and uniforms the students wore.
@@richardmckrell4899 Really can't understand what the politics of an architect says of about the quality of their work... Don't think it's true as you say. Hope you live a happy life free from ideology and guided by the principles of good design. There are plenty of terrible architects, liberal and conservative alike. The architect from California that you refer to is one of the best and most respected in his field. You should reassess your views...
I don't think Ward Willits was dissatisfied with the construction of his house. The friendship between Wright and Willits continued after the completion of the house. In 1905 Ward and Cecelia Willits joined Wright snd wife Catherine for a trip to Japan. The voyage took 14 days departing on Feb 21 and arriving in Yokohama on March 7. Wrights's ill-treatment of his wife during the voyage and the resulting discomfort between the two couples meant that they largely parted company while in Japan. But it was Wright's abandonment of his wife and family a few years later and the difficulty Willits had collecting on loans he had made to Wright that ended their friendship. But Willits it seems did not sour on his house. He lived in his masterpiece of a Prairie House until his death in 1950.
Wright's work speaks for itself and can benefit from constant reappraisal. It is one part of honoring and learning from him.
After a long life with many (6) brand new homes, I finally retired in Phoenix to another new home. (Probably the best architectural arrangement) Where I have lived, now for twenty years. Soon after arriving here I visited Taliesin West. Was I ever disapointed! The place was in such poor condition that I wonder why they let the people in. There was no vandalism, just near total structural decay! The arrangement was nothing remarkable either. Part of the tour included discussion about FLW's training of his students, who lived in small tent like edifices on the grounds. Another part of the tour was how his female partner had her own, semi grand apartment. Seeing your photo of Frank as the Florida dedication (Cape, cain and all) reminded me of my impressions at Talisman west. It was ALL about Frank!! I believe he not only was a lousy architect, he was a real louse of a person!!
BTW, the home we really enjoyed the most was a remodeled Barn constructed by the very first settler on Mercer Island WA. And, yes, we had to rebuild the roof, walls and floors. Added Decks, Doors, Windows and fireplace as well. When we left the place was very much like a FLW design.
"Soon after arriving here I visited Taliesin West. Was I ever disappointed! The place was in such poor condition that I wonder why they let the people in.:
I first visited it 30 years ago and again about 5 years ago. I have no idea what you're talking about.
Wow! FLW houses in Highland Park! Sounds like paradise! I haven't watched the full video yet, but I think the two storey one will have a lake view. I can just imagine the sunrise over Lake Michigan. And facing west, maybe the sunset thru the trees. And in the summer, the trees providing shade. FLW incorporated the nayural setting wherever he could.
I work on small residential projects. Even a project of 100,000 would have 500 individual purchases. A single purchase might be all the windows. Each window surprisingly has hundreds of parameters. Multiply that up there is potential for tens of thousands of single errors. In addition a project would have dozens of people working for months on end. These errors often occur and the client can see the entire project as a failure because of a few items. I have visited Frank Lloyd Wright homes. They have an extraordinary atmosphere which I cannot understate. FLW used specific geometries such as root 2 which was probably learned in Japan. His buildings are special and this video is unnecessarily petty picking at bits and pieces.
Disagree
I can't imagine what might have happened if Wright had actually built the Illinois "Mile High" skyscraper. My personal opinion is instead of making him the leading architect of all time (so he imagined), it may very well have doomed himself as one of historys most spectacular failures. For one thing, despite being asked several times he allegedly had refused to compromise his design by putting fire escape accomodations in, stubbornly insisting that fire was impossible in his building.
So true. Hubris afflicts any human. Wright just had the benefit of being ordained, so he was free from criticism ;-)
22:00 I've always wished that one of the big concrete block manufacturers would have picked up on Wright's block designs and produced them in a high quality concrete.
Flw is really the greatest conceptualist architect. Its his concept that made flw the greatest architect. The strength of his structure is left to the concern of structural engineers. Dont blame flw for weakness of strength. Its his concept that we all thankful for him to have him being born on earth.
We are so very thankful for this nuance. Nobody really knows until they experience it themselves. Living in a Wright home isn't meant to be comfortable - it's an adventure - whether you like it or not ;-)
With regard to recreations of Wright's block house concept, how would replacing the steel with basalt work out?
That's an excellent question. Thank you
Centainly something that can be informative like Wright mistakes. But lacks of impactfullness with examples that really seem petty. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, thanks for the video.
Appreciate it! We're all entitled to opinions. Facts, of course, are primal. Hope this was educational.
What a fun challenge to dismantle and renovate Wrights projects. That’s how we lose our hair, with all that head scratching.
LOL! So True!
Don't you mean FRANK LLOYD WRONG ?
🕵😎...'Where FLW Went Wrong...😂...🙂..You mean, Y. Yall Cant Keep.Up..Verdad???
Por supuesto, la verdad!
Dicey engineering and unusual, even strange construction materials and techniques seem to be hallmarks of a FLW house. This guy was the PT Barnum of 20th century architecture.
His wife, Olgivanna, was a hard-core disciple of the grifter, con-artist and scam artist, G. I. Gurdjieff. G. I. Gurdjieff ran a mind control cult in Russian and in France, with spin-offs in major cities such as New York. Frank Lloyd Wright wanted to be a cult leader and modeled Taliesin on Gurdjieff's cult at Prieure de avon in France--including nonsensical manual labor, crazy making exercises, weird dances and uniforms the students wore.
you are delusional
lol
A liberal architect from California restoring a Wright house equals a bankrupt home owner.
LOL. Let's not inject politics into this ;-)
@@calpreservation True though
@@richardmckrell4899 Really can't understand what the politics of an architect says of about the quality of their work... Don't think it's true as you say. Hope you live a happy life free from ideology and guided by the principles of good design. There are plenty of terrible architects, liberal and conservative alike. The architect from California that you refer to is one of the best and most respected in his field. You should reassess your views...
@@calpreservation Really? Of course you do.
@@richardmckrell4899🍆