Ironically, in this window detail, I think he may have met his match!
The glass was not iridescent on the interior, which, like many of the Wright interiors, you can not photograph. But their photographers have the right light, angles and cameras, so it's worth getting a postcard or book and supporting the restoration.Given that I spent my first year of college in a dorm directly across the street (there is the fabulous new Booth Business School in its place now...and as a U of Chicago College graduate, I have to hold mixed feelings about that...), I wondered why I had no memory of the inside. But the tour explained that all since the renovation effort didn't begin until the 1990s. Before that it was variously functioning property.
As a landscape designer, I know I would have wanted to strangle the architect (just kidding) because his drainage idiosyncrasies, while good for the "perfect" house, are quite challenging for the garden! I wonder what the solution was at the time the house was built around a century ago? Anyway, it is always amazing for me to be able to experience uniquely creative places. My friend allowed that there were some interesting details.
2 comments:
I visited Taliesen years ago and was thrilled by the design of the interiors. They seemed so ahead of their time. I have to admit that I didn't pay much attention to the landscape surrounding the buildings, except to note that it was a beautiful spot.
Altoon, counter-intuitively, the Prairie Landscape Designers of the Midwest who were Wright's contemporaries (notable Jensen & O.C. Simonds, had very different ideas than Wright about landscaping. He liked Japanese practices which are very controlling. Also, since he often wanted light to infuse the buildings, Wright often wanted turf grass to come right up to the foundation, where a few flower boxes were part of the facade.
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