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Frank Lloyd Wright (born 8. June 1867 in Richland Center/USA; died 9. April 1959 in Phoenix/USA) was one of the most prolific and influential American architects of the 20th century. Rejecting conventional wisdom which saw buildings as mere boxes Lloyd Wright practiced "organic architecture", a process whereby the form evolves naturally from the buildings intended function. Although he was greatly helped by advances in materials and technology which allowed him to create ever more challenging structures, Lloyd Wrights true strength was his understanding of geometry and his appreciation of space as something to use rather than confine. In many ways Frank Lloyd Wrights work can be seen as a forerunner of the Bauhaus movement. Frank Lloyd Wright's early work is dominated by his so called Prairie Houses - a concept involving very simple, single storey structures based around a crucifix, T or L shaped, open plan core. In addition to designing the houses, Lloyd-Wright also desigend the interiors, including furniture such as the, so called, Robie Chair for Frederick Robie's House in Chicago or the Barrel Chair for Wingspread, built for Herbert F. Johnson. Frank Lloyd Wright's private life was rarely as calm and smooth flowing as his designs and on several occasions major events were to enforce major changes. One such event came in 1914 when one of his servants murderd 7 family members and employess at Lloyd Wrights Taliesin, home and studio complex in Wisconsin. In the years immediately following this tragedy Lloyd Wright designed less and those works that he did design were generally of a more robust, solid appearance. By the late 1930s Lloyd Wright was once again designing up to a dozen buildings a year - a tempo he kept up right until his death in 1959. Among Frank Lloyd Wright's most famous works are the Guggenheim Museum in Manhatten, and Fallingwater at Bear Run, Pennsylvania, both buildings building that stand as a lasting testament to the designer and his philosophy.
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