D599 FLW Zimmerman house Manchester ©
Copyright PS
Zimmerman house, 223 Heather St. (by Union St).
Street side.
Set at an angle on the 3/4 acre site for best orientation and nature.
.............But if we’re going to grab the opportunity to explore a Frank Lloyd Wright house, perhaps we should recap some general background. I’ve unfairly extracted snippets from the man himself in “The Natural House”; (and remembering he grew up on a prairie farm):
Organic architecture:
a “...sense of earth” “... an organic simplicity in harmonious order”.
“...letting it lie comfortably flatwise with the ground... and an idea that shelter should be the essential look of any dwelling ... broad shelter in the open, related to vista, vista without and vista within”
Scale:
“Human scale as true building scale... heights not to impress the beholder, but only to comfort the human being...”
Natural materials:
“...elimination of the insignificant” of unrelated clutter, “..and in the beauty of the natural use of materials...” “... to see brick as brick...wood as wood”. “The material itself had possibilities of use peculiar to the nature of each.”
Continuity in integrity:
“ ... in the concept of the building as a whole...” “.. This ideal of the integration that is organic.” “... included making all furnishings integral parts of the architecture... belonging as part of the building.” “... only so does architecture completely live.”
Interior:
“...architecture conceived as enclosure of space to be lived in... a sense of interior space made exterior as architecture ... lived-in space revealed and playing in light... light is the beautifier of the building.”
Hearth and chimney:
“... necessity for one chimney. A generous one... a place for a real fire... So the integral fireplace becomes an important part of the building itself.” Hearth of the home.
Overhangs:
“I gave broad protecting roof shelter to the whole... overhangs had double value: shelter and preservation of the walls, as well as diffusion of light...” “The house associates with the ground and becomes natural to its site.”
Windows:
“... fewer window holes though much greater window area; windows and doors lowered to convenient human height” “The windows sometimes wrapped around the building corners as emphasis of “plasticity” and to increase the sense of interior space.”
Truly sentient architecture:
“Withal, the Usonian (cultured American) dwelling seems a thing loving the ground with the new sense of space, light, and freedom...” “ harmony was established not only in the house but with its site.”
From the “Usonian” exhibition of 1953:
“...spaciousness and sunlight, human scale, warmth and solidity, a feeling of shelter, and a sense of outdoors.”
“Clerestorey windows assuring natural light on all sides of a room whatever the orientation, yet affording privacy. ... and a brick wall pierced in natural block pattern.”
“...tall glass doors extending full height throwing the living-room open to outside terrace ... in warm red brickwork ... with skylight above central kitchen ... secure and intimate with rich wood finishes... belonging to the style of the whole.”
“What is needed most in architecture today is integrity...”
“In designing the Usonian house... I have always proportioned it to the human figure in scale.”
“The Usonian house aims to be a natural performance, one that’s integral to the life of the inhabitants, with the nature of materials, and to itself as a whole.”
“The best way to light a house is... the natural way.” “Proper orientation is the first condition of the lighting....” “Artificial lighting should be a built-in part...; the effect should be that it comes from the same source as natural light.” “Lighting fixtures should be absorbed in the structure... All this after the building has been properly orientated.”
“Furnishings that are suitable for a Usonian house are those, too, that are organic in character; that is, textures and patterns that sympathise in their own design with the design and construction of the particular house they occupy.”
“Coatings: We use nothing applied which tends to eliminate the true character of what is beneath...wood is wood. We like to have whatever we use demonstrate the beauty of its own character.”
“Every house worth considering as a work of art must have a grammar...Everything has an articulation related to the whole and all belong together, look well together because all are speaking the same language.”
“Nature is the great teacher.”
FLW
We'll see some of these ideas in the Zimmerman house. ...............
Note, above photo, the largely blank privacy wall on the street side; openings higher than eye-level. Also the natural site rock giving entrance focus, and further anchoring the house to the land.
I think the window blocks will be 2ft; half a four foot module.
Currier docent right.
More...............>
.
D599 FLW Zimmerman house Manchester ©
Copyright PS
Zimmerman house, 223 Heather St. (by Union St).
Street side.
Set at an angle on the 3/4 acre site for best orientation and nature.
.............But if we’re going to grab the opportunity to explore a Frank Lloyd Wright house, perhaps we should recap some general background. I’ve unfairly extracted snippets from the man himself in “The Natural House”; (and remembering he grew up on a prairie farm):
Organic architecture:
a “...sense of earth” “... an organic simplicity in harmonious order”.
“...letting it lie comfortably flatwise with the ground... and an idea that shelter should be the essential look of any dwelling ... broad shelter in the open, related to vista, vista without and vista within”
Scale:
“Human scale as true building scale... heights not to impress the beholder, but only to comfort the human being...”
Natural materials:
“...elimination of the insignificant” of unrelated clutter, “..and in the beauty of the natural use of materials...” “... to see brick as brick...wood as wood”. “The material itself had possibilities of use peculiar to the nature of each.”
Continuity in integrity:
“ ... in the concept of the building as a whole...” “.. This ideal of the integration that is organic.” “... included making all furnishings integral parts of the architecture... belonging as part of the building.” “... only so does architecture completely live.”
Interior:
“...architecture conceived as enclosure of space to be lived in... a sense of interior space made exterior as architecture ... lived-in space revealed and playing in light... light is the beautifier of the building.”
Hearth and chimney:
“... necessity for one chimney. A generous one... a place for a real fire... So the integral fireplace becomes an important part of the building itself.” Hearth of the home.
Overhangs:
“I gave broad protecting roof shelter to the whole... overhangs had double value: shelter and preservation of the walls, as well as diffusion of light...” “The house associates with the ground and becomes natural to its site.”
Windows:
“... fewer window holes though much greater window area; windows and doors lowered to convenient human height” “The windows sometimes wrapped around the building corners as emphasis of “plasticity” and to increase the sense of interior space.”
Truly sentient architecture:
“Withal, the Usonian (cultured American) dwelling seems a thing loving the ground with the new sense of space, light, and freedom...” “ harmony was established not only in the house but with its site.”
From the “Usonian” exhibition of 1953:
“...spaciousness and sunlight, human scale, warmth and solidity, a feeling of shelter, and a sense of outdoors.”
“Clerestorey windows assuring natural light on all sides of a room whatever the orientation, yet affording privacy. ... and a brick wall pierced in natural block pattern.”
“...tall glass doors extending full height throwing the living-room open to outside terrace ... in warm red brickwork ... with skylight above central kitchen ... secure and intimate with rich wood finishes... belonging to the style of the whole.”
“What is needed most in architecture today is integrity...”
“In designing the Usonian house... I have always proportioned it to the human figure in scale.”
“The Usonian house aims to be a natural performance, one that’s integral to the life of the inhabitants, with the nature of materials, and to itself as a whole.”
“The best way to light a house is... the natural way.” “Proper orientation is the first condition of the lighting....” “Artificial lighting should be a built-in part...; the effect should be that it comes from the same source as natural light.” “Lighting fixtures should be absorbed in the structure... All this after the building has been properly orientated.”
“Furnishings that are suitable for a Usonian house are those, too, that are organic in character; that is, textures and patterns that sympathise in their own design with the design and construction of the particular house they occupy.”
“Coatings: We use nothing applied which tends to eliminate the true character of what is beneath...wood is wood. We like to have whatever we use demonstrate the beauty of its own character.”
“Every house worth considering as a work of art must have a grammar...Everything has an articulation related to the whole and all belong together, look well together because all are speaking the same language.”
“Nature is the great teacher.”
FLW
We'll see some of these ideas in the Zimmerman house. ...............
Note, above photo, the largely blank privacy wall on the street side; openings higher than eye-level. Also the natural site rock giving entrance focus, and further anchoring the house to the land.
I think the window blocks will be 2ft; half a four foot module.
Currier docent right.
More...............>
.