Frank Lloyd Wright The Houses (Hardcover)

by Alan Hess (Author), Alan Weintraub (Photographer), Kenneth Frampton (Contributor), Thomas S. Hines (Contributor), Bruce Brooks Pfeiffer (Contributor)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Frank Lloyd Wright is not only synonymous with architecture, his name is also synonymous with the American house in the twentieth century. In particular, his residential work has been the subject of continuing interest and controversy. Wright's Fallingwater (1935), the seminal masterpiece perched over a waterfall deep in the Pennsylvania highlands, is perhaps the best-known private house in the history of the world. In fact, Wright's houses-from his Prairie style Robie House (1906) in Chicago, to the Storer (1923) and Freeman (1923) houses in Los Angeles, and Taliesen West (1937) in the Arizona desert-are all touchstones of modern architecture. For the first time, all 289 extant houses are shown here in exquisite color photographs. Along with Weintraub's stunning photos and a selection of floor plans and archival images, the book includes text and essays by several leading Wright scholars. Frank Lloyd Wright: The Houses is an event of great importance and a major contribution to the literature on this titan of modern architecture.

About the Author
Alan Weintraub is an architectural photographer whose recent work includes Bay Area Style. Alan Hess is an architectural writer and author of Rizzoli's The Architecture of John Lautner. Kenneth Frampton is Ware Professor of Architecture at Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation. Thomas S. Hines is Professor of History and Architecture at UCLA. Bruce Brooks Pfeiffer is Director of the Frank Lloyd Wright Archives at the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. Kathryn Smith is an architecture historian, preservation consultant, author and lecturer. Margo Stipe is Registrar of the Frank Lloyd Wright Archives at the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. Eric Lloyd Wright, great grandson of Frank Lloyd Wright, is an architect based in California.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 544 pages
• Publisher: Rizzoli; First Edition edition (November 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0847827364
• ISBN-13: 978-0847827367
• Product Dimensions: 13.5 x 11.8 x 2.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #38,357 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #5 in	Books > Arts & Photography > Architecture > Architects, A-Z > Wright, Frank Lloyd
  #62 in	Books > Arts & Photography > Architecture > Building Types & Styles > Residential
  #85 in	Books > Arts & Photography > Schools, Periods & Styles

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

62 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dynamite Wright, December 15, 2005

By	A. McDonald (New York) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book will send Wright fans into a tizzy, it's that wonderful. The authors have assembled a collection of the complete Frank Lloyd Wright houses that remain (a sadly dwindling number), and the Weintraub photographs are simply amazing. There are some good essays but the photographs are really the heart of the book.

The images are immense (the book feels like 300 lbs on your lap) and stunning. It is after all the experience of the physical visit to see the spatial and visual detail of Wright's houses that is so exciting, and these photographs are a great substitute for a visit. They are very palpable. They have a keen sense in demonstrating the interplay of natural light within the Wright interiors and a good sense for the dynamic qualities of his spaces.

For someone familiar with Wright's more obscure houses by looking at little grainy black and white images, these photos are simply a revelation.

An essential book for any fan of Wright's architecture.

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Wright House Photos!, December 17, 2005

By	Bruce Guisti "thinker49" (Spring Creek, Nevada USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I honestly do not know how many Wright books I have(40-50?). There are better photos of one house like Fallingwater in specific books devoted to one house, but that being said, this is the best book of photos of Wright Houses, particularly Usonian houses that I have ever seen. It is simply stunning. Even the site photographs are magnificent. When you compare the houses that have been moved from their original site(Pope-Leighy, Gordon)to those that have not it makes the genius of Wright even more amazing.

If you are a fan of Frank Lloyd Wright, do not miss this!!

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must have for Wright fans, April 13, 2006

By	M. Hughes (Herndon, VA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you have already read the other reviews you know how good this book is. I wish they had this available when I first started getting interested in Frank Lloyd Wright back in college. All they had then were the dingy, dark, older pictures that really didn't convey just how great some of Mr. Wright's houses were. These new pictures really show how much genius he had in design. What is even more apparant when you see some of these new pictures is just how much mastery he had for setting up a home with natural light. Simply put, if you have the money and are even a casual fan, you should just treat yourself and get the book.