Frank Lloyd Wright

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Frank Lloyd Wright was a famous architect who planned very interesting houses and other structures. He was born on June 8, 1867 in Richland Center, Wisconsin.

After studying civil engineering at the University of Wisconsin, he moved to Chicago in 1887 where he met and married Catherine Tobin. He went to work as a draftsman with Adler and Sullivan. While working with Louis Sullivan, he began to independently construct model houses for Adler and Sullivan. In 1893 he started his own studio in Chicago.

In 1898 he designed his own house and studio and had them built in Oak Park, Illinois, which is just outside of Chicago. His house was big enough to accommodate himself, his wife, and their 6 children. He spent much time writing and teaching other people about designing professional buildings. By 1908 he originated most of the principles of architecture that are used today. He started new techniques for architectural things, such as the use of precast concrete blocks reinforced by steel rods.

He also introduced numerous innovations including air conditioning, indirect lighting and panel heating. The Larkin Building in Buffalo, New York, which he designed in 1904, was the first office building to utilize air conditioning, double glass windows, and all glass doors. He also designed the huge Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, constructed to withstand earthquakes. The rooms in some of his houses and buildings were increasingly open to one another and his plans became more and more clear. His urban houses and buildings had skylights on the roof.

After 1893 when the issue of his building houses without permission finally caused a break with Adler and Sullivan's office, he ventured out on his own. During the next 20 years he worked out of his own studio and office, then he became one of the...