nedjelja, 11. lipnja 2017.

Arch Daily

Arch Daily


Michelberger Hotel, Room 304 / Sigurd Larsen

Posted: 10 Jun 2017 07:00 PM PDT

© Rita Lino © Rita Lino
© Rita Lino © Rita Lino

From the architect. With this room you get a whole house. Pure and calm from the outside the many doors and windows reveal a warm wooden interior. Here you nd bedroom, sauna and kitchen open to the outside garden. One door opens to a staircase leading to a guestroom and large hammock overlooking the interior garden.

Plan Plan

Elements of a playhouse speak to the guest's childish side. But the house is kept pure and sharp to take this imaginative game of play into an adult mind.

© James Pfaff © James Pfaff

A part of the garden contains a rain shower and swimming pool bathtub for relaxing mo- ments accompanied by a terrace with a dining table and sitting area.

© James Pfaff © James Pfaff

The new rooms are designed in close collaboration between the Michelberger Team and the Danish architect Sigurd Larsen.

The room is available for short or long-term stays under the hotel category "Hideout".

Plans Plans

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Layer House / Robson Rak Architects and Interior Designers

Posted: 10 Jun 2017 01:00 PM PDT

© Shannon McGrath  © Shannon McGrath
  • Builder : Heycon Pty Ltd
© Shannon McGrath  © Shannon McGrath

From the architect. The layer house is located in regional, coastal Victoria. The site is close to the beach yet doesn't have any views to embrace. The site is largely sloping from the north to the south and is made up of layers of limestone shelves and underground caves.

© Shannon McGrath  © Shannon McGrath

The client's brief was to create a large family home that can accommodate many guests and family members at the one time. This was to be a quality, robust home for generations.

Ground / Lower Plan Ground / Lower Plan

The house has been designed as a series of 'layers' with intersecting zones and private vistas. Nestled among tea trees, there are no sweeping panoramic views from the site so we created some smaller internal courtyard spaces and vistas that allowed a sense of looking past the building.

© Shannon McGrath  © Shannon McGrath

The house is contextually sensitive and is built with local building materials and techniques. The two main materials used on the house are rammed earth and timber. The sand component of the rammed earth is locally sourced and built by local artisans. Rammed earth is a sustainable, honest, and efficient building material that requires no maintenance and ages gracefully. The timber will be allowed to grey off and age with time.

© Shannon McGrath  © Shannon McGrath

Aluminium doors and windows are double glazed and thermally broken. Louvers are used throughout the house for cross ventilation. Hydronic heating within the concrete floor evenly heats the home in the winter.

© Shannon McGrath  © Shannon McGrath

Whilst we used a simple and pale palette of timber, rammed earth and a pale concrete floor we used some strategic graphic insertions to the interior design to excite and delineate areas. The green tiled island bench is one such example. Using a hardwearing commercial grade tile, the green also helps connect the landscaping with the internal space.

© Shannon McGrath  © Shannon McGrath

The house is contextually sensitive and is built with local building materials and techniques. The two main materials used on the house are rammed earth and timber. The sand component of the rammed earth is locally sourced and built by local artisans. Rammed earth is a sustainable, honest, and efficient building material that requires no maintenance and ages gracefully. The timber will be allowed to grey off and age with time.

© Shannon McGrath  © Shannon McGrath

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Restoration Using Simple Regional Techniques Enhances Local Culture

Posted: 10 Jun 2017 09:00 AM PDT

This article is part of our series "Material in Focus", where we ask architects to share with us their creative process through the choice of materials that define important parts of the construction of their buildings.

Alagoas House used neutral colors and furnishings in order to let local craftsmanship stand out. Some of the strategies that guided the projects included using works by regional artists and decorating with repurposed everyday objects. We spoke with architect João Duayer of Tavares Duayer Arquitetura to learn more about the choice of materials and the determining role that they played in his concept for this project.

© João Duayer & Nathalie Ventura © João Duayer & Nathalie Ventura

What were the main materials you used for this project?

JD: Ceramic brick, wood, and ceramic tile.

© João Duayer & Nathalie Ventura © João Duayer & Nathalie Ventura

What were your main sources of inspiration and influence when you were choosing the materials used in the project?

JD: The Brazilian Northeastern regional architecture.

© João Duayer & Nathalie Ventura © João Duayer & Nathalie Ventura

Describe how decisions on materials influenced the design of the project.

JD: It was difficult to access the site and the length of time allotted to the project was very short. One of the prerequisites was to use building materials that were cheap and common to Brazil. The time for this renovation was 15 days.

© João Duayer & Nathalie Ventura © João Duayer & Nathalie Ventura

What were the advantages that this material offered for the construction of the project?

JD: Agility and familiarity between the workers and the material.

© João Duayer & Nathalie Ventura © João Duayer & Nathalie Ventura

Did you ever consider the possibility of other materials for the project? If so, how would that have changed the project?

JD: Yes, but we needed to make adjustments to meet the deadline.

© João Duayer & Nathalie Ventura © João Duayer & Nathalie Ventura

How did you research suppliers and builders appropriate for the materials you used in the project?

JD: (We used) local suppliers, from the Northeastern interior of Brazil.

© João Duayer & Nathalie Ventura © João Duayer & Nathalie Ventura

Alagoas House / Tavares Duayer Arquitetura

Completed in 2016 in Olho d'Água do Casado, Brazil. Images by João Duayer & Nathalie Ventura. The scenery is the backwoods of Alagoas, Brazil, a place so atypical of great beauty and simplicity. It helped us understand that the kickoff should...

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Diversity of Use and Landscape Defines Denmark's New Rowing Stadium

Posted: 10 Jun 2017 07:00 AM PDT

Courtesy of AART architects Courtesy of AART architects

Denmark-based AART architects have been selected to design the country's national rowing stadium, seeing off strong competition from prominent firms such as BIG and Kengo Kuma. Situated upon Bagsværd Lake on the outskirts of Copenhagen, the scheme seeks to allow the sporting elite and broader public to form a close interaction with picturesque natural surroundings.

Courtesy of AART architects Courtesy of AART architects
Courtesy of AART architects Courtesy of AART architects

Flanked by water and forest on all sides, the Denmark Rowing Stadium fuses rowing with other forms of social and scenic experience. An open, inviting rowing center forms a focal point to the scheme, surrounded by an activity space, promenade square, and park, whilst nooks and crannies throughout the building create natural informal meeting places. The interior spaces frequently open themselves out to the natural surroundings, providing a transition between the clean, expansive lake and dense recreational forest. As such, the user is immersed in a field of tension between the lake and forest, giving the building an inherent transparency.

Courtesy of AART architects Courtesy of AART architects
Courtesy of AART architects Courtesy of AART architects

 It is much more than a rowing stadium. It is a sports centre that mixes various kinds of sports with social and scenic experiences. It shows that sport – for the elite and the public – is not just about strength and stamina, but also social well-being and mental health. It is about the whole person, and that is precisely the starting point for the new national rowing stadium that, as a broadly inclusive framework in everyday life, helps to enhance the performance of the individual athlete – AART architects.

Courtesy of AART architects Courtesy of AART architects
Courtesy of AART architects Courtesy of AART architects

Rather than being dug into the landscape, the rowing center rests upon the grid structure of the boat hall, with timber cladding further integrating the scheme into its surroundings. A wooden referee tower will also be constructed, inspired by the forest's soaring trees. In contrast to the horizontal lines of the spectator stands, the referee tower will be clad in vertical wooden slats, affiliating itself with the main structure. Complete with a climbing wall, pull-up bars, and a covered terrace, the tower exemplifies AART's vision of a multi-use center which, though integrated with the environment, forms a distinctive landmark for Danish sporting excellence.

Courtesy of AART architects Courtesy of AART architects

News via: AART architects.

BIG, Kuma, 3XN Among 5 Competing for New Aquatics Center in Copenhagen

The city of Copenhagen have announced the shortlist of 5 firms that will compete for the design of a new aquatics center to be located on a prominent site in the Copenhagen Harbor. Planned for completion in 2021, the project will feature a 5,000-square-meter facility offering both indoor and outdoor swimming areas with views across the water to the Henning Larsen-designed Copenhagen Opera House.

AART Architects Transforms Danish Hospital Into University

AART Architects have won the competition to transform the Aarhus Municipal Hospital into a new campus for Aarhus University in Denmark. In an effort to renew and enhance the original qualities of the site-like its red tile façades and consistent compositions of public space-as well as to support academic and urban life of the future, the project will uphold "the site's historical potential by paving the way for new prospects to create a forward-looking transformation of this unique spot."

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Academic Building Faculty of Arts UC / Fernando Pérez Oyarzun + José Quintanilla Chala

Posted: 10 Jun 2017 06:00 AM PDT

© Juan Purcell © Juan Purcell
  • Collaborator Architects: Mónica Flores, Luis Lucero, Carolina Rodríguez
  • Associate Engineers: Sergio Contreras
  • Energy Efficiency: Waldo Bustamante
  • Construction: GHG SA
  • Promoter: Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
© Juan Purcell © Juan Purcell

From the architect. The building was conceived as a simple volume, in favor of an easier construction and to avoid competing with the existing building. A kind of infrastructure, provided with flexible plans and an energy efficient skin. We sought for certain rusticity and a particular combination of concrete and brick masonry, the original materials of the campus. We propose a double wall box, with inner air chamber, and post tensed slabs, with no columns inside. Inner divisions, which can be easily moved, are made of timber and glass panels. Their delicacy contrasts with the rusticity of the exterior.

© Philippe Blanc © Philippe Blanc

The new building has been separated from the old one for technical and formal reasons. A small bridge connects the third floor with the old corridor and a west connection has been considered for the future. Distribution and form of the façade's openings respond to the layout of inner spaces, the existing building scale and the energy efficiency (less than 50 % of openings to avoid thermal gains). Reception offices and meeting rooms have been located in the two first floors. In the third floor there are the dean’s and head of the school’s offices, along with their staff. The four floor is again a place of offices and meeting rooms. The upper terrace, provided with a meeting area, is conceived as a social space.

Drawing Drawing

It allows contemplating the urban landscape and the imposing Andes. Slight changes in the width and position of the circulations, allows each floor to have its own identity.

© José Quintanilla © José Quintanilla

The new building has been separated from the old one for technical and formal reasons. A small bridge connects the third floor with the old corridor and a west connection has been considered for the future. Distribution and form of the façade's openings respond to the layout of inner spaces, the existing building scale and the energy efficiency (less than 50 % of openings to avoid thermal gains). Reception offices and meeting rooms have been located in the two first floors. In the third floor there are the dean’s and head of the school’s offices, along with their staff. The four floor is again a place of offices and meeting rooms. The upper terrace, provided with a meeting area, is conceived as a social space. It allows contemplating the urban landscape and the imposing Andes. Slight changes in the width and position of the circulations, allows each floor to have its own identity.

Axonometric Axonometric
Axonometric Axonometric

The building had to appear as if it were always there. That was the main intention. The project is located in a 1926, brick and reinforced concrete neo-Romanesque complex. The original project remained uncompleted. The northwestern patio lacked the northern wing. This was the location chosen by the university for the new Faculty of Arts Academic Building. The building had to allocate offices for academics from the Arts, Music and Theater Schools, as well as their authorities and the Dean’s office.

© Juan Purcell © Juan Purcell

The project completes the patio, as in the original project, adapting it to present needs. It also provides a new double height connection with the garden and sport area, adjacent to which an exhibition room is located. The idea was to respect the height and width (11 m.) of the original building. For this, the four-floor volume was located partially underground, to allocate the whole program and facilitate the connection of its third floor with the second of the old one. That decision, and the requirements of the brief, led to generate a minor parallel underground volume and accommodate a small garden and an entrance space in between them. This gave a new character to the old patio, which was provided with an upper level area, acting as a kind of performing space.

© José Quintanilla © José Quintanilla

The users took possession of the building during the second semester 2015. It was immediately and generally well received. They were able to identify the design intentions to integrate the building into the existing environment. This was a central point: there was great concern of the community on that respect. The patio has been envisaged as a more vivid space where performances can take place and the new connection with the sport area, enriches the circulation scheme of the campus. There, the art gallery can be extended for exterior exhibitions, making the passing by an exciting experience. The working conditions were in general considered adequate. The brief asked for a very dense office layout. A few double heights and the upper terrace were provided to make the building breath in functional terms. However, the fact that not all the academics work at the same time, has helped to reach a good work climate. 

Axonometric section Axonometric section

The thermal inner conditions have performed as they had been modeled, confirming the original expectations. The double walls and their materials provide an adequate thermal inertia and the windows size avoid an excess of thermal gains. This is helped by the recession of the northern windows. This new academic building has allowed the university to plan the re-use of other campus spaces. They will accommodate a new extension center, having a significant and positive impact on the surrounding urban area. Therefore, being a very punctual and localized intervention it acts as a kind of acupuncture with wider urban effects.

© José Quintanilla © José Quintanilla

Looking at the intervention retrospectively, one can say that the building of the Faculty of Arts both adapts to the preexisting conditions and transforms them. The project fits into the campus traditional trace but, at once, creates new architectural situations enriching it. That happens with the cloister’s patio enhanced with the presence of an informal scene. Similarly, the connection of that space towards the north widens it and endows it with a new dimension. The upper terrace establishes an aerial dialog with the old building's green metal roofs while, at once, turns it into a livable space. Thus, performing as an object that could have been there since long, the building introduces subtle but radical transformations to the campus.

Plans Plans

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TED Talk: Justin Davidson on the Pitfalls of Glass Skylines

Posted: 10 Jun 2017 05:00 AM PDT

Justin Davidson: Why glass towers are bad for city life -- and what we need instead

There's a creepy transformation taking over our cities, says architecture critic Justin Davidson. From Houston, Texas to Guangzhou, China, shiny towers of concrete and steel covered with glass are cropping up like an invasive species.

"That person sitting right next to you might have the most idiosyncratic inner life, but you don't have a clue because we're all wearing the same expression. That is the kind of creepy transformation that is taking over cities."

Shiny, bland and homogenous. These characteristics are increasingly encapsulating the nature and identity of our cities through the use of glass as a dominant building material, says Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Justin Davidson. In this TED Talk, Davidson stresses the importance of the use of a varied palette of materials that evoke texture, color, roughness, and shadow, in order to create architecture of individuality and character to define and populate the world's cities. The rapid growth of glassy skylines, which express a disdain for communal urban interaction, can be curbed through a combination of new and old building and material techniques, creating architecture that absorbs history and memory as a reflection of the diverse society it lives in.

Video via: TED.

New Book Calls for an End to Our Fetish for Conditioned Skyscrapers

Professor Alan Short of the University of Cambridge has published a book advocating for the revival of 19th-century architectural ideas to address the crippling energy use of modern skyscrapers. The Recovery of Natural Environments in Architecture proposes an end to the architectural fetish for glass, steel, and air conditioning, instead drawing inspiration from forgotten techniques in naturally ventilated buildings of the 1800s.

New Study to Investigate Skyscraper-Induced Depression and Motion Sicknesses

Have you been experiencing motion sickness, depression, sleepiness, and even fear, as you gaze out of your window from the 44 th floor? If so, you may be prone to "Sick Building Syndrome" - the informal term for side effects caused by swaying skyscrapers, according to experts at the Universities of Bath and Exeter, who are launching a £7 million ($8.6 million) study into their causes and prevention through testing simulations.

TED Talk: The Designer of Chile's Bahá'í Temple Explores Sacred Spaces in a Secular Time

In a recent TED Talk, architect Siamak Hariri takes the audience inside his design process for the Bahá'í Temple of South America. Responding to an open call in 2003 to design the last of the faith's continental temples in Santiago, Chile, Hariri recalls a moment as a student at Yale when he learned about the transcendent power of architecture, a moment he tried to recreate in the twelve-year project.

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Frank Lloyd Wright's Early Blueprints of the Guggenheim Reveal Design Ideas That Didn't Make It

Posted: 10 Jun 2017 02:30 AM PDT

1953 section of the proposed Guggenheim Museum design. Image © 2017 Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, Scottsdale, AZ. All rights reserved. 1953 section of the proposed Guggenheim Museum design. Image © 2017 Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, Scottsdale, AZ. All rights reserved.

In a recent blog post, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum explores unrealized design details from Frank Lloyd Wright's iconic design in New York City, based on blueprints and drawings from the museum's archives. From large-scale questions of form to material choices, the 16-year period between the commission and the completion of the museum saw many design iterations. Most notable of these are the circulation paths drawn by Wright in the 1953 blueprints that include a steeper circular ramp—in addition to the "Grand Ramp"—that would allow for expedited access to the floors. Though replaced later with a triangular staircase, the "Quick Ramp" demonstrates Wright's exploration of overlapping geometries.

Detail of the 1953 plan of the Guggenheim Museum that shows the proposed "quick ramp". Image © 2017 Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, Scottsdale, AZ. All rights reserved. Detail of the 1953 plan of the Guggenheim Museum that shows the proposed "quick ramp". Image © 2017 Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, Scottsdale, AZ. All rights reserved.
Index of Surface Finishes from the 1953 blueprints of the Guggenheim Museum. Image © 2017 Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, Scottsdale, AZ. All rights reserved. Index of Surface Finishes from the 1953 blueprints of the Guggenheim Museum. Image © 2017 Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, Scottsdale, AZ. All rights reserved.

Wright's "Index of Surface Finishes" drawing shows another study the building went through during the design process. The index indicates a desire to have the ramps in cork, but due to financial and maintenance concerns it was ultimately completed in terrazzo—the material used in the rest of the museum. The collection also features photographs of the physical model made in 1945 to help the public visualize the unconventional design. Though the dome pattern has since changed, the model is strong in its use of section to convey Wright's vision of connectivity and light that remains today.

Detail of the 1953 section of the Guggenheim Museum showing the proposed "quick ramp". Image © 2017 Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, Scottsdale, AZ. All rights reserved. Detail of the 1953 section of the Guggenheim Museum showing the proposed "quick ramp". Image © 2017 Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, Scottsdale, AZ. All rights reserved.
The 1945 model of the Guggenheim, before the design was extended to 89th street. Image © 2017 Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, Scottsdale, AZ. All rights reserved. The 1945 model of the Guggenheim, before the design was extended to 89th street. Image © 2017 Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, Scottsdale, AZ. All rights reserved.

To learn more about the Guggenheim's design history, and the decisions that led to the building that now stands, read the original article by Ashley Mendelsohn on the Guggenheim blog here.

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Filmax Cinema Hall / Arquitecturia + AMOO

Posted: 10 Jun 2017 02:00 AM PDT

© José Hevia © José Hevia
  • Architects: Arquitecturia, AMOO
  • Location: L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, España
  • Arquitectos A Cargo: Josep Camps, Olga Felip, Aureli Mora, Omar Ornaque
  • Area: 640.0 m2
  • Project Year: 2016
  • Photographs: José Hevia
© José Hevia © José Hevia

From the architect. The Filmax Cinemas in Gran Vía, located within the Gran Vía 2 shopping centre, opened their doors 15 years ago. After this golden age and before the paradigm shift, the client seeks a project to straighten up the cinemas by reducing their dimension, optimising their functioning and offering an experience which goes beyond what happens inside the room.

© José Hevia © José Hevia

FUNCTIONING AND EFFICIENCY

REDUCTION OF THE NUMBER OF ROOMS

The cinemas go from having 15 rooms to 12. These rooms will be converted into a bowling alley, which will be accesible from the cinemas.

Plan Plan

SINGLE POINT OF SALE

The conventional concept of the ticket window is eliminated, getting rid of the volume destined to this function, located in the shopping centre’s restoration terrace. At the main bar, the public can now buy the tickets as well as popcorn, drinks and others, making a single queue.

© José Hevia © José Hevia

The barriers have been eliminated, delaying the access and opening the hall, taking over the entire fl oor and easing a fluid circulation. It is no longer compulsory to go to the cinemas to consume their products. With the execution of all the previous points stated above, a bar that allows the worker to carry out all the jobs without moving or interfering with the public is obtained. Thus, the worker can now replace products in the points of sale and in the storehouse, sell tickets, drinks, popcorn, sweets, control the access to the different rooms, control the dynamic digital content and the lighting of the space.

View View

ENVIRONMENT

SECTION

The whole false ceiling is demolished in a way that the steps’ slabs section stand on the hall, enriching the concept of the entrance to the cinemas. Given the great height in some points, it is opted for a comfort height of 2.70m, as far as all the elements and coatings will arrive. As from this height, seen installations and structure are painted in a same colour, which gives a sense of uniformity.

© José Hevia © José Hevia

INFORMATION

Given the original disorder and randomness, it is decided to order the digital information in two axes. The fi rst one, frontal from the access and parallel to the bar, will announce the schedules of fi lms, drinks and other consumables. In a perpendicular direction, and by screening the original pillars, there will be a billboard with all the fi lms and trailers. The architecture will change according to the information, energising the space.

© José Hevia © José Hevia

ILLUMINATION

The experience of entering the cinemas is, amongst other things, the change from light to darkness. At a height of 270 cm, a sub-structure is created to support all the arranged lighting in continuous strips that, with their zig-zag, guide the spectator from the doors to the entrance of the rooms. Therefore, the hall becomes the fi rst gradient of darkness.

Plan Plan

PAVEMENT

The darkening of the whole environment is fi nished off with a black terrazzo of large white aggregates that, simulating the effect of spilled popcorn, help to avoid the feeling of negligence during peak service hours or impossibility of cleaning.

© José Hevia © José Hevia

STRATEGY

Within the set of reticulated geometry, it is opted for a singular, dissonant and wheeled element, which will be the sweet trolley. This element can vary its position depending on the day and the use of the rooms.

© José Hevia © José Hevia

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26 Things You Didn't Know About Frank Lloyd Wright

Posted: 10 Jun 2017 01:00 AM PDT

© New York World-Telegram and the Sun staff photographer [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons © New York World-Telegram and the Sun staff photographer [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

150 years ago this month saw the birth of one of the most regarded, studied, influential architects of the twentieth century - American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. With a career spanning over seventy years, Wright developed his own distinct style of 'organic architecture', a new residential model of 'prairie house', as well as iconic schemes such as the Guggenheim in New York, and Fallingwater in Pennsylvania. 

More than an architect, Wright was a social critic and visionary, just as well-known for his personal life as he is for his architectural contributions. The various stages of Wright's career can be narrated in tandem with biographical episodes, as exemplified in the book "Lives built, Biographies of architects" by authors Anatxu Zabalbeascoa and Javier Rodríguez Marcos. In celebration of Wright's birthday and life, we have compiled a list of biographical details to give you an insight into the man behind some of the twentieth century's most enduring pieces of architecture. 

This is what we discovered.

1. Less than 20 years old, and not yet graduated from school, he traveled to Chicago to fulfill his dream of being an architect. 

2. His first job was working in the office of Joseph Lyman Silsbee, the architect who had designed a church where his uncle preached.

3. Shortly after working with Silsbee, Wright left for a position as an apprentice in Adler & Sullivan's office. The first building which Wright worked on for Louise Sullivan was the Auditorium Building, allowing him to establish a name both within the office and across the country. 

4. At age 22, Wright decided to buy land in Oak Park to build the house where he lived with his first wife, Catherine. To pay for the house, Wright gets Sullivan to offer him a 5-year contract and a $5000 prepayment. 

Frank Lloyd Wright's house in Oak Park. Image © Wikimedia User John Delano of Hammond, Indiana Frank Lloyd Wright's house in Oak Park. Image © Wikimedia User John Delano of Hammond, Indiana

5. Between Frank Lloyd Wright and Louis Sullivan, a close teacher-disciple relationship ensued, which was broken in 1893 when Sullivan fired Wright after learning that he had been taking personal work in secret. 

6. W.H. Winslow, a wrought-iron ornament maker, who's decorations were used by Sullivan in his buildings, commissioned a young Wright to design the first of his prairie houses. The Winslow house was the first in a series of houses that defined Wright's organic style, characterized by having a strong link with their natural environment and placing the staircase and fireplace the heart of the dwelling. 

Fallingwater. Image © Western Pennsylvania Conservancy Fallingwater. Image © Western Pennsylvania Conservancy

7. Wright often used his client's homes as test laboratories, experimenting with styles such as English tutor, derived from the Scottish arts and crafts, or the Mayan geometry of Yucatan temples. 

8. In 1893, Daniel Burnham of the renowned Burnham & Root studio offered Wright a partnership in his firm. Burnham offered Wright three years of training in Paris, where he could reside with his wife and six children, and two more years in Rome to learn from the classics. Wright rejected the offer.

9. At the age of 40, Frank Lloyd Wright had instigated a new style in domestic architecture, putting an end to wasted attics and damp basements.

10. Japan became a recurring destination for Wright, who worked in the acquisition and resale of Japanese prints, offering a relief to the financial problems that constantly afflicted them.

Taliesin West. Image © Wikimedia user Steven C. Price licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 Taliesin West. Image © Wikimedia user Steven C. Price licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

11. One of Wright's passions was to spend time with his yellow convertible, a Stoddard Dayton that he himself had to build from scratch. 

12. At the beginning of the century, popular magazines began to publish Wright's homes and a German publisher became interested in his complete work. Chicago newspapers were also becoming interested in his private life, publishing controversial news about his infidelities with married women. 

13. Wright designed and built Taliesin on a rural hillside to live with his mistress, Mamah Cheney. Here, some of the best architects of the twentieth century would come to learn from Wright. 

14. While building Taliesin, he was commissioned with two of his greatest projects: Midway Gardens and the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo. 

Imperial Hotel. Image © en:user:Fg2 (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons Imperial Hotel. Image © en:user:Fg2 (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

15. Seven people died in 1914 including apprentices, students, Mamah Cheney and Wright's two children as a result of a fire in Taliesin intentionally started by their butler. 

16. The Miniature, in Pasadena, Californa, was the first of four houses that Wright would build with the "textile blocks" system, an experimental technique of concrete blocks ornamented with geometric patterns. 

Ennis House. Image © Wikimedia user Mike Dillon licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 Ennis House. Image © Wikimedia user Mike Dillon licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0

17. Taliesin would burn twice more, and as Wright did not have enough money for its reconstruction, a group of former clients organized a partnership to pay their debts. To keep Taliesin economically viable, the society devised programs in which students paid an enrollment to be able to learn and "experience the lifestyle of Frank Lloyd Wright". 

18. In Arizona, Wright built Taliesin West, the home he moved to with his third wife, the Montenegrin dancer Olgivanna Lazović. 

Taliesin West. Image © Wikimedia user AndrewHorne licensed under CC BY 3.0 Taliesin West. Image © Wikimedia user AndrewHorne licensed under CC BY 3.0

19. Fallingwater was commissioned by the parents of Edgar J. Kaufman, a young historian living in Taliesin. 

20. The journalist Herbert Jacobs commissioned Wright to design a small house that was so popular among young architects that its owner began to charge those who came to see it. 

21. During World War II, when most of the buildings were stopped, Wright begins designing the Usonian houses, affordable housing that would revolutionize the American concept of domestic architecture. 

22. Wright spent the last years of his life living in the suite at the Hotel Plaza in New York, from where he supervised the construction of the Guggenheim. 

23. During his later life, Wright designed a house for Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller. 

Guggenheim Museum. Image © Flickr user Sam valadi licensed under CC BY 2.0 Guggenheim Museum. Image © Flickr user Sam valadi licensed under CC BY 2.0

24. At the age of 80, he published manifestos in favor of horizontality, accusing verticality of provoking vertigo. 

25. At the age of 90, he traveled to Baghdad to meet the king of Iraq, who commissioned an urban project that would not materialize due to the assassination of the monarch. 

26. In the last years of his life, he dedicated himself to sharing his knowledge with younger generations through poignant lectures. In one of his last talks, he publicly paid tribute to Louis Sullivan, and the architectural revolution he had achieved. 

"Lives built, Biographies of architects" by authors Anatxu Zabalbeascoa and Javier Rodríguez Marcos and edited by Gustavo Gili, brings together the biographies of 20 of the most celebrated architects that existed from the Renaissance to the Modern Movement. Each story is a fascinating story that explores the lives of each author, not with an eagerness to gossip, but because each biographical episode allows us to understand the origin of some works.

Correction update: This article originally stated that Taliesin West was constructed in New Mexico and that Wright moved there with his second wife. In fact it is in Arizona, and Olgivanna Lazović was his third wife.

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