Walter Burley Griffin in America [Paperback]

Mati Maldre (Author), Paul Kruty (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2000

""Walter Burley Griffin in America" provides a detailed look at the work of one of the most original architects the United States has produced. This beautiful volume features nearly 200 photographs of Walter Burley Griffin's structures and landscapes, as well as a chronological catalog of standing buildings, a list of demolished works, a location guide, and a selected bibliography. The book is further enhanced by Mati Maldre's discussion of his techniques and objectives in photographing Griffin's work and Paul Kruty's essay putting Griffin forward as the third great member, after Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, of the Prairie School of architecture."

Editorial Reviews

Review

Compelling display. . . . Through Maldre's arresting . . . photography, we see an amazing series of houses and buildings that proclaim Griffin's overlooked genius. -- Chicago Sun-Times

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: University of Illinois Press (November 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0252069471
• ISBN-13: 978-0252069475
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 10 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,583,765 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars classic prairie school reading, January 28, 2003

By 

David L. Rhodes "arm chair scholar" (St. Louis, Missouri USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Walter Burley Griffin in America (Paperback)

This book is well researched, well designed and well executed. The photographs are entirely in B&W and are beautifully reproduced here. Walter Burley Griffin and his most talented wife Marion Mahony are still fighting their way out of the shadows of Frank Lloyd's Wright's "presence"..however this book greatly enhances our knowledge of the legacy the Griffin's built here. Bottom line, Walter and Marion were a powerful architectural team and Illinois/Iowa both house an unbelievable collection of their prairie school gems. I would highly reccommend this book as a starting point for anyone interested in exposing themselves to the Griffins are their influence on Frank Lloyd Wright and the prairie school. FYI the first 1/3 of the book is text and the rest photographs.....I just wish the book was bigger and longer.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful - Makes Us Eager for More, June 9, 2009

By 

JAD (The Sunshine State) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Walter Burley Griffin in America (Paperback)

This wonderful exploration of the architecture of Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin is a helpful introduction and ongoing reference work for anyone who wants to know more of the story of the "Chicago Group" who were creating a new residential architecture in and around Chicago in the early years of the 20th century.

The work of Griffin / Mahony (one cannot separate the two) is presented beautifully by Mati Maldre's exquisite black and white photographs. They convey the striking geometries and interest in symmetry that set the Griffin / Mahony work apart from the more asymmetrical leanings of Wright. This book should serve as a guide to all of the communities in which these works remain, to safeguard them for the future. Many of the features of these homes look strikingly "modern" even one hundred years later.

Walter and Marion were both Oak Park Studio employees of Frank Lloyd Wright and deserve more credit than has been given heretofore in contributions toward bringing into being what has come to be known as the prairie style of architecture.

As Barry Byrne described it, the architects in the Oak Park Studio (William Drummond, Francis Barry Byrne, Walter Burley Griffin, Albert McArthur, Marion Mahony, Isabel Roberts and George Willis) engaged in internal design competitions. So that if new clients, say Mr. and Mrs. Thomas, came to call, the program of their needs would be set before all the architects on the staff. Then by a stated time, each one would present his or her idea as to what would be the best solution for the client's needs. Within the Studio, they would discuss and decide--and whichever design seemed most appropriate would be developed and presented to Mr. and Mrs. Thomas. The rest of the designs would be filed away for possible future use. No matter whose design it was, Wright, as the principal of the firm, took all the credit.

It is said that few of these drawings were signed, so the influence of Griffin or Mahony or the others is hard to trace. Even so, this book shows elements of the Griffin / Mahony aesthetic that point directly to pre 1913 works that came from the Oak Park Studio. Such was the impact of Griffin and Mahoney that innovations such as the L-shaped plan of the Oak Park Thomas House are probably their work, not Wright's per se. All of this can be explored further in Marion Manony Griffin's "The Magic of America" which is unpublished but available to be read on line.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Beautiful Raisonne, January 5, 2006

By 

Romantic in Chicago "M" (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Walter Burley Griffin in America (Paperback)

This is a beautiful catalog of the work of a unique American architect. (I'm not an unbiased reviewer -- I live in a Walter Burley Griffin home.) Mati's photographs are beautiful, and he is to be congratulated on his perserverance in completing this photographic record when he did. Some of the houses are disappearing due to developer fever -- it's truly a shame that Americans lust after oversized cookie cutter McMansions, and don't recognize the heritage that is being discarded. Viva Preservation!