HomeMy WebLinkAboutA006 - Email from Peter Orazem with comments "Frank Lloyd Wright' House Page 1 of 2
From: Peter Orazem <pforazem@gmail.com>
To: tom<tom@tomwacha.org>; Davis,Jeremy<jeremyndavis@gmail.com>; Larson,Jami <jlarson101@aol.com>;
Riad Mahayni <rmahayni@iastate.edu>; matthew<matthew@eatfightingburrito.com>; Campbell,Ann
<bobanncamp@aol.com>; Steve Schainker<sschainker@city.ames.ia.us>; sosguthorpe
<sosguthorpe@city.ames.ia.us>; DMarek<DMarek@city.ames.ia.us>
Subject: "Frank Lloyd Wright' House
Date: Wed, Sep 29,2010 10:01 am
I am beginning to wonder about our process for designating properties as historic, and I am very concerned that
the city is placing itself in a position of policing individual home ownership beyond any sensible notion of the
public good. I do not believe the house we saw yesterday is a particularly unique example of any important
architectural principles and I don't think that the city should feel compelled to preserve properties for the benefit of
the deceased. I am particularly concerned that we are being viewed as too limited in expertise to judge what is
and what is not a house consistent with the principles of Frank Lloyd Wright.
Frank Lloyd Wright is known for houses that take the nature of their surroundings and that are designed after the
needs of the owner. His homes were not devoid of landscaping and set out like a pimple on a nose as seems to
be a requirement of the city on the Adams property (see the prime examples of Prairie style architecture listed
below (Robie and Coonley houses). He would never say that the owner had to conform to the house, the house
would have to conform to the owner. While I have no idea of his views on resale, it is hardly in his philosophy to
make a building a static memorial to the past—the whole philosophy of'form follows function'was to say that
historical architecture was not relevant for design.
Thomas Leslie, the consultant architect on this, is certainly qualified to judge whether this house is truly historic.
My reading of his discussion is hardly an overwhelming endorsement of the house's importance to architecture. I
found no reference to the house in the architecture literature and, while no expert, I will note that a Google search
of'Mary Adams House' leads to a Frank Lloyd Wright house built in Highland Park, IL (ie this is not even the most
important Mary Adams house).
The Leslie report likens the structure to the Herbert Jacobs House
http://www.usonial.com/
and the Goetsch Winkler house
http://www.peterbeers.net/interests/flw rt/Michigan/Goetsch Winckler House/goetsch-winckler house.htm
neither of which has this devoid of nature look. We were not allowed to question Mr. Leslie and maybe this is all
water over the bridge, but I cannot believe this house is such a unique historic architectural structure that it merits
the prohibitions listed on home use. If the city really believes what it is saying, then it should be willing to preserve
the house and not force some homeowner to buy this in order to serve as caretaker with the city policing the
homeowners maintenance of the property and grounds. If I were raising a family, I would not want to live in a
house that prevents me from fencing the property against the public access, to use trees and bushes to provide
shade and to enhance the look of the property while providing a modicum of privacy, and to live in a mausoleum
dedicated to the memory of a nice but overly self-absorbed couple. i would certainly not want to know that the
Ames Historical Society will be looking over my shoulder at every home improvement I make to insure the house
retains its original 1948 look. To do so as a perversion of Frank Lloyd Wright principles is particularly galling.
From various sources
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"Frank Lloyd Wright' House Page 2 of 2
Form follows function was coined by architect Louis Sullivan
It is the pervading law of all things organic and inorganic,
Of all things physical and metaphysical,
Of all things human and all things super-human,
Of all true manifestations of the head,
Of the heart, of the soul,
That the life is recognizable in its expression,
That form ever follows function. This is the law.
Sullivan's assistant Frank Lloyd Wright adopted and professed the same principle in slightly different form
Fallingwater stands as one of Wright's greatest masterpieces both for its dynamism and for its integration with the
striking natural surroundings. Wright's passion for Japanese architecturewas strongly reflected in the design of
Fallingwater, particularly in the importance of interpenetrating exterior and interior spaces and the strong
emphasis placed on harmony between man and nature.
Between 1900 and 1910, his residential designs were"Prairie Houses" (extended low buildings with shallow,
sloping roofs, clean sky lines, suppressed chimneys, overhangs and terraces, using unfinished materials), so-
called because the design is considered to complement the land around Chicago.
He believed that humanity should be central to all design.
Wright practiced what is known as organic architecture, an architecture that evolves naturally out of the context,
most importantly for him the relationship between the site and the building and the needs of the client. Houses in
wooded regions, for instance, made heavy use of wood, desert houses had rambling floor plans and heavy use of
stone, and houses in rocky areas such as Los Angeles were built mainly of cinder block.
Prairie Style
Frederick Robie House:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robie House
Coonley House
http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM2DRY Coonley House
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One more item on the Adams house historical value Page 1 of 1
From: Peter Orazem<pforazem@gmail.com>
To: tom <tom@tomwacha.org>; Davis, Jeremy<jeremyndavis@gmail.com>; Larson,Jami <jlarson101@aol.com>;
Riad Mahayni <rmahayni@iastate.edu>; matthew<matthew@eatfightingburrito.com>; Campbell,Ann
<bobanncamp@aol.com>; Steve Schainker<sschainker@city.ames.ia.us>;sosguthorpe
<sosguthorpe@city.ames.ia.us>; DMarek<DMarek@city.ames.ia.us>
Subject: One more item on the Adams house historical value
Date: Thu, Sep 30, 2010 10:30 am
The architect's report states that his understanding was that the house was built in 1948 and that makes it a very
early example of modern residential architecture and that the design features such as the curved walls anticipated
the broader use of those features later in the 1950s
In fact, the house was built in 1958.
The early adoption of later architectural trends was the most credible argument about the historical value of the
house. The rest of the discussion was defending the house against claims that it was amateurish. The narrative
about famous people having dinner and watching the stars and Dr Adams prominence in the astrology and
osteopathic fields were boiler plate that could be applied just as easily to almost any family in Ames.
I understand that the city accepted the responsibility of carrying out Mary Adams wishes in her will when it
accepted the property, but I would urge that the restrictions placed on the future homeowners be as liberal as
possible within the stated requirements of the will. I do not think that gardens and expansion in the back, fencing
to delineate the public and private areas, modest changes to the structure that would not change its look from the
street (the public vantage), and landscaping around the house that would not obstruct the view of the house from
the street are contrary to the wishes of the Adams family.
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