Arguably America’s greatest architect and among the
world’s most gifted, Frank Lloyd Wright was also a man
of boundless energy. In a career that spanned over 74
years, he designed more than 900 works – including
houses, offices, churches, schools, libraries, bridges,
museums and many other building types. Of that total,
over 500 resulted in completed works. Today, over 400
of these buildings still remain.
Wright’s creative mind was not only confined to
architecture. He also designed furniture, fabrics, art
glass, lamps, dinnerware, silver, linens and graphic
arts. In addition, he was a prolific writer, an educator
and a philosopher. He authored twenty books and
countless articles, lectured throughout the United
States and in Europe.
Wright was born in 1867, in the rural farming town of
Richland Center, Wisconsin, just two years after the
American Civil War ended and passed away at the age
of 91 in 1959. While there is evidence of Wright attending
both high school and the University of Wisconsin-
Madison, there is no record of him graduating from
either. In 1887 Wright moved to Chicago and by the
early 1890s he was already head draftsman at the
architectural firm of Adler & Sullivan.
As an architect and artist Wright was both intrigued
and inspired by the Far East, and especially Japan. He
would eventually design and complete six buildings in
the country, the most famous being the Imperial Hotel
Wright was recognized as a brilliant architect by his
peers and continues to be revered today. No other
architecture took greater advantage of setting and
environment. No other architect glorified the sense
of “shelter” as did Frank Lloyd Wright. As he famously
stated: “a building is not just a place to be. It is a way
to be.
Sans doute le plus grand architecte américain et l’un
des plus doués au monde, Frank Lloyd Wright était
aussi un homme à l’énergie illimitée. Dans une carrière
qui a duré plus de 74 ans, il a conçu plus de 900
œuvres, notamment des maisons, des bureaux, des
églises, des écoles, des bibliothèques, des ponts, des
musées et de nombreux autres types de bâtiments.
Sur ce total, plus de 500 ont donné des projets
terminés et plus de 400 de ces bâtiments existent
toujours aujourd’hui.
L’esprit créatif de Wright ne se limitait pas à
l’architecture. Il créa aussi des meubles, des tissus,
des objets en verre, des lampes, de la vaisselle, de
l’argenterie, du linge et des réalisations graphiques.
Il était aussi un écrivain prolifique, un pédagogue et
un philosophe. Il écrivit vingt livres et d’innombrables
About the architect
À propos de l’architecte
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