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Pratt Institute School of Architecture, Undergraduate Architecture Program, Course Syllabus ARCH 506The Architecture and Thought of Frank Lloyd Wright
Credits: 3 Type of Course: Elective Seminar Class Meetings: Friday 9pm-12noon Location: Rm 310 HHS Prerequisites: ARCH 308 Enrollment Cap.: 20 Instructor: John Lobell 212-679-1935 JohnLobellPratt@aol.com Course OverviewThis course surveys the buildings, writings and design philosophy of Frank Lloyd Wright. It examines various influences of his work and considers the relevancy of his "organic" approach to the contemporary designer. Learning ObjectivesFor the architectural student, the study of architectural history and the work of specific architects should be an aid in the mastering of design. FLW is one of the most masterful designers of modern times and as such is an invaluable source for us as designers. Course Requirements & Grading Criteria · Exams: quizzes on reading and a final exam · Class notes: Notes must be taken in class. Xerox copy of notes must be submitted at end of course. · Student Hours per Week: three in class, approximately six in preparation · Evaluation of Student Work: Grade will be derived as follows: • Quizzes on readings (periodic & random). You must do all of the reading. approx 20%. • Guggenheim analysis: approx 10% - Final exam: approx 30% - Course Project: approx 30% - Class notes: approx 10% · Grades may be lowered for poor attendance and lack of participation. More than three unexcused absences will lead to a reduction of grade by one letter grade. A late equals 1/2 absence.
REQUIRED READING Frank Lloyd Wright, Architect, McCarter, Robert, Phaidon Press, ISBN 0 7148 3854 3
Also recommended: Frank Lloyd Wright by Vincent Joseph Scully, Jr., Paperback (June 1960) George Braziller; ISBN: 0807602213 "The Art and Craft of the Machine," in Frank Lloyd Wright: Writings & Buildings, Kaufmann (Both in library) Lecture NotesThe lectures in this course cover major architectural issues in Wright's work as well as powerful ideas behind the work. Among these ideas are Industrialization, Post-industrial everything, Existentialism, Eastern thought/Western thought, Buddhism, Organic architecture, Humanism/Anti humanism, Einstein's relativity theory, and the differences between America and Europe. Often these ideas will show up in scattered form throughout the lectures, but I expect you to catch them. The way we will know if you have comprehended these architectural issues and ideas is if they show up in your notes. They will also be addressed in the final exam. The way you retain material in a course is by taking notes. While it is difficult to listen to a lecture and take notes at the same time, it is vital to be able to do so. If you do not take notes, chances are you will not retain the material. While I hope my lectures are interesting, they are intended as more than entertainment. The taking of notes and is what makes them more than entertainment. (Yes, you are permitted to record the lectures in any format. However, if you do, you must still take notes during the lectures.) Notes should not be a verbatim transcript of the lecture, but an organized outline of the key ideas. Of course it is difficult to comprehend the material in a lecture and get it into an organized outline during the lecture, but it is the very act of doing so that gives you mastery of the material and helps it stick in your mind. Doing this makes you an active participant in the lecture, not just a passive listener, and helps you make the material your own. Since this is an architecture course, you should include sketches and diagrams in your notes. The best way to study is to review your notes shortly after class every week. If you are really serious, you might want to rewrite or type up your notes each week while the lecture is still fresh in your mind. You will of course want to review them again before the final exam. If this is a good course, and if you have taken good notes and perhaps re-written them, you will want to keep them, along with notes and other material from most of your courses, indefinitely as part of your personal architectural library. As in indication that I take this seriously, I want you to turn in a xerox copy of you notes for the entire course on December 5. Guggenheim Analysis ProjectVisit the Guggenheim Museum. Working from observing the building, not from books, do the following: • Make one or more diagrammatic sketches of the building that communicate the structural system and how the loads are carried to the ground. Make the drawings while you are at the museum. Format All drawings should be 8.5" x 11" You can use any medium and style of drawing. Your drawings will be hung in class and discussed. You might imagine that we are an office and your drawings are being shown to a client, so we want them to look professional. Thus they can be in a sketchy style, but they should convey that we can draw and can present architectural ideas clearly. Each drawing should have a title block with the following information • Guggenheim Analysis Project • Your name • ARCH 506P• Date The title block should be integrated into the composition of your drawings. COURSE PROJECT Analysis of a Wright building. Analysis should be done with drawings (size: 11" x 17"). Any drawing medium is ok, including computer drawings. Models are also acceptable. All drawings must be your own, no xeroxes. Failure to present on the assigned date will result in a loss of one letter grade on the project. Pick one (or more) FLW building. Then pick one (or more) historical buildings or buildings by other important architects that share organizational features with the FLW building you have chosen. In your presentation, diagrammatically communicate the organizational similarities of the FLW and historical buildings. Each drawing should have a title block with the following information • (Name of Building) Analysis Project • Your name • ARCH 506P• Date The title block should be integrated into the composition of your drawings. ARCH 506P SPRING 1. 9/5 Introduction. Background: Chicago School
2. 9/12 Early houses, Prairie style, Reading: McCarter, Intro & chs 1, 2, 3 3. 9/19 Robbie House Do Guggenheim Analysis Project. See above for assignment. Reading: McCarter, chs 5 4. 9/26 The Larkin Building. Unity Temple. Martin House. Reading: McCarter, ch 4 Guggenheim Analysis Project due
5. 10/3 Philosophy Frank Lloyd Wright's relationship to: Industrialization, Post-industrialism, Existentialism, Eastern thought/Western thought, Buddhism, Organic architecture, Humanism/Anti humanism, Einstein's special relativity, and the differences between America and Europe. Reading: McCarter, ch 1, and "The Art and Craft of the Machine," in Frank Lloyd Wright: Writings & Buildings · QUIZ on The Art and Craft of the Machine 6. 10/10 Taliesin East. Other early work. Greene and Greene and other parallels. Wright and the Europeans Reading: McCarter, ch 6
7. 10/17 Imperial Hotel. California houses Reading: McCarter, chs 7, 8
8. 10/24 Falling Water Reading: McCarter, ch 10
9. 10/31 Johnson's Wax. Wingspread. Hanna House. Taliesin West Reading: McCarter, chs 12, 13 10. 11/7 Guggenheim Museum; other late projects Reading: McCarter, ch 15 11. 11/14 Price Tower; Mile High, compared to steel frame and very tall buildings. Other later projects Reading: McCarter, chs 9, 16 12. 11/21 PROJECTS DUE
11/28 No Class. Thanksgiving
13. 12/5 Relevance of Wright for today · FINAL EXAM · COURSE NOTES DUE
14. 12/12 No class. Jury Week
15. 12/19 Discussion
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