Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959)

Born in Wisconsin on June 8, 1867, Frank Lloyd Wright studied civil engineering at the University of Wisconsin in Madison but had always wanted to be an architect, so he moved to Chicago and began working as a draftsman when he was 20. After a few months, he was hired by Louis Sullivan, one of the most well known architects in Chicago, and through his work there developed the design philosophy that "form and function are one." This means that something can be useful and beautiful at the same time. He designed houses on the side but when Mr. Sullivan found out about it, the young architect was fired.

He started his own company in 1893 and built a studio at his home in Oak Park, IL. Over the next eight years, almost 50 buildings that he designed were built, based on his new "Prairie School" of design, which called for spread-out one-story houses made from natural materials. In 1913, he was hired to design the new Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, Japan, where he spent the next six years. Tokyo had many earthquakes, and after a particularly bad one in 1923, the Imperial Hotel was one of the few buildings that was still standing. Frank Lloyd Wright returned to the United States and continued working on all kinds of buildings and furnishings, including designing houses in Los Angeles. One of his most famous designs is a house called "Fallingwater" in Pennsylvania, which is a perfect example of how architecture can blend with nature because it is actually built over a small waterfall.

He was influenced by art and architecture around the world, especially Japan, but it was important to him that America have its own architecture, which led him to design "open" floor plans and "organic" objects that reflect the people who lived there, and respect natural local materials and the environment. In 1932, he founded The Taliesin Fellowship where 30 apprentices lived and worked under his direction. An additional site was built in Arizona where they could work during the winter. In 1937, he and his family moved to Arizona permanently.

Frank Lloyd Wright appreciated technology and new styles, and was always interested in finding new ways to create beautiful things. "The longer I live the more beautiful life becomes," he said. He gave lectures on organic architecture and wrote many articles and books. He continued working right up to the time he died on April 9, 1959 at the age of 92.