Customer Reviews

The Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright: A Complete Catalog

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book is an edited version of the FLW Companion by the same author. Lacks the floor plans, some of the text, but adds color pictures. This man knows all the architect's works intimately, and he finds something interesting to say about each one. You may find some of the entries insignificant, like a design for an exibition or a remodeling for a shop. Spends much of each house's description on the arrangement of rooms, which is difficult to follow without the diagram that was meant to go with it. Even so, it's probably the best choice for the average reader; anyone desperate for the plans can get the other version through his local library.

This book is just what it says it is, A complete catalog of the
works of Frank Lloyd Wright built during his life time. The text for each structure, in most cases was taken from Mr. Storrer's book The FLW Companion except where new data has been added since the original publication. Each site is illustrated with a photo. Even lost or demolished works, and most are in color. In many cases new or additional photos are included. For me, the main benefit of this book is the Field Guide Maps section at the end. As clearly stated in the text the scale of the maps is compressed for ease of display, BUT the actual site locations is
so accurately shown that you can determine which side of the street the structure is on and if visable from public property.

This is a very well done overview of all of Wright's works. Every project get's the requisite image and a short synopsis of the building. If you are someone that wants an indepth book on Wright, then this may not be the best book for you, but if you want an overview of all of Wright's work, then you will not be disappointed in this book.

This book has been sort of the authority on Wright since at least the time when I was in college, but I never read it till I bought it a couple of weeks ago.
It is an amazing wealth of information for the Wright fan, or student. It provides a great overview of his projects and locations to help you decide on those which you would like to study in depth, or possibly a clandestine drive-by-viewing.
Due to the nature of the book you can spend a few minutes a day during your morning coffee, or sit for a longer session without getting bored.

A good guide book for the FLW fan. The maps in the back are helpful. I have one problem with this book; some of my pages are blank!

Experts William Allin Storrer and Thomas A. Heinz are our two best-known guides to the work of America's greatest architect, Frank Lloyd Wright.

Having said this...

Thomas A. Heinz, AIA, has built up a considerable body of work about the master architect, from regional guidebooks to one-house monographs. Chief among them are his pioneering books with full-color photographs which were among the first color renditions of the Wright buildings to be made available at modest prices for the general reader.

One also wishes to say this...

The cataloge, guidebooks and software offered by Mr. Storrer over the years have been excellent and continue to be augmented as time progresses.

Mr. Storrer is the expert on the who, what, when, where and why of Wright. This book is a catalog of all of Wright's works, but it is more than that. If you are a Wright aficionado, you will want to keep this book in your car and take it with you when you travel, to be sure that you get to see these notable works of architecture first-hand. Mr. Storrer will not only help you get there, he will give you what you need to know about each of them, based on a lifetime of scholarship and first-hand knowledge.

Before you go, however, here are a few things to keep in mind...

An increasing number of these buildings are open to the public on a regular basis and if so, by all means, do go inside or you will miss more than half of the reason you visited. Wright's interiors are serene and sublime.

Another, smaller, group of these buildings are open annually for special tours--most famously the Wright-Plus tour in Oak Park and River Forrest every May; there are a number of places on line where you can find out more about them.

Further, a small sample of these buildings now offer overnight accommodations, either as a rental space that you alone can enjoy or as a bed and breakfast. Again, do the research and make your stay memorable.

Finally, remember that the vast majority of the residences remain in private hands; they are costly to buy, expensive to restore and challenging to maintain authentically.

If you go, just a few thoughts about how to conduct yourself during your visit...especially if you are looking at a private residence, of which many of these are.

- Stay on public areas, such as sidewalks and streets.

- Take only photos and leave only footprints.

People who live in Wright houses do so because they appreciate his aesthetic, and they know that those who seek them out do so as well. So in most cases they are fine with courteous and discreet visitors who keep their distance and simply admire the work.

And if for some reason you cannot go, this catalog will still serve you well as a compendium of America's greatest architect's oeuvre.

One further thought...

From comments posted in other reviews here and elsewhere, wherever Wright is discussed, it is clear that a creeping form of professional rivalry exists among some of the leading Wright experts. Why, who knows? However, it is most unfortunate; since there will always be plenty of room in the ever-growing field of understanding and interpreting Wright's work for one and all.

For those mentioned above, as well as for Donald Hoffman (with his fine research on some of the greatest houses), (Wisconsin-Wright chronicler, photographer and blogger) Mark Hertzberg, Carla Lind (with her appreciative details-approach), Peter Beers (and his wonderful Wright road trips and over the top tattoos), the good folks at PrairieMod, and many others whom I apologize to for not mentioning by name, the ordinary Wright fan says, "Thank you and keep 'em coming!"

I'm very pleased with this updated third edition. I just used it yesterday to locate one of his buildings in Hastings, MN. I love the color photographs, new information and the addition of the maps. What I do miss in this edition that was included in the second edition, is the Geographical Index By Zip Code. It's very convenient to look up the state and see if I'll be near any of his works while on holiday. One can look up the locations via the maps, but I found the index to be faster. Still love the book and highly recommend it to any FLW fan.

If this were the only book I'd seen on Wright I would never suspect he was a great architect. The text may be informative, but the photos are at best a disappointment. The quality of the photos is bad, and the photo chosen is in many cases not representative of the structure. Floor plans are not included. It includes many inconsequential structures, but it doesn't include his unbuilt projects.

The reproduction quality provided by MIT Press was substandard. A new edition, with color of the extant work, is in the works for Spring 2001 publication.