Frank Lloyd Wright’s Gordon House is a modest, beautiful example of Wright’s Usonion Design. The home struck me as utopian in the best sense of the word.
On the tour it was pointed out that Wright thought of the box as a fascist symbol. So he designed things like corner doors and windows, and incorporated various space liberating features and lines that broke the traditional box-shape of dwelling spaces. He created a unity and harmony between the interior and exterior.
A box alone might evoke limitation, containment or excessive control, so I can see his point. But are Wright’s designs a symbol of democracy, of liberty? This was an architect who didn’t want you to put your own furniture in the house he designed for you, or to change the wall color. You’ll get used to it, he said.
Ironically, I’ve always thought some of Wright’s architecture looked like artfully arranged collections of the most beautiful boxes in the world.
matthewlowes.com 