Recently, I stood under the wide, cantilevered carport of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Usonian gem, the Pope-Leighey house with Craig and the children and a handful of other tourists waiting to tour the 1400 square foot residence. Although not far from Falls Church, Virginia where the house originally stood the house has been rebuilt twice and is currently situated at the bottom of a gentle slope on grounds also owned by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the early 19th century home, Woodlawn, offering a unique, juxtaposed study of the definition of home.
The Usonian house does not follow an expectation of architecture that can be found in Wright’s larger masterpieces where throngs of tourists marvel at Wright’s design and innovation. Even the clients who eagerly bought into Wrights idea of good design for the masses and were willing to implement them into their own lives were typically intellectuals of modest means - university professors, newspaper men - who understood Wright’s intent and subscribed to his philosophies wholeheartedly.
The people who gather at these poetic odes to organic simplicity resemble those individuals who sought Wright sixty, seventy years ago. Everyone wears with pride the other Usonian homes that they have visited. “Hanna House” rings from one end of the group before a couple lists a number of homes in Michigan and draws sighs with their finale, “Goetsch – Winkler.”
The Usonian house does not follow an expectation of architecture that can be found in Wright’s larger masterpieces where throngs of tourists marvel at Wright’s design and innovation. Even the clients who eagerly bought into Wrights idea of good design for the masses and were willing to implement them into their own lives were typically intellectuals of modest means - university professors, newspaper men - who understood Wright’s intent and subscribed to his philosophies wholeheartedly.
The people who gather at these poetic odes to organic simplicity resemble those individuals who sought Wright sixty, seventy years ago. Everyone wears with pride the other Usonian homes that they have visited. “Hanna House” rings from one end of the group before a couple lists a number of homes in Michigan and draws sighs with their finale, “Goetsch – Winkler.”
“My favorite,” Craig whispers.
Tours consist of numerous observations that compare and contrast various other Usonian homes to the current one. These groups also contain at least one young, idyllic, Natural Home quoting architect. Tour guides preach to the choir. No one seems bothered by the less than adequate (by today’s standard anyway) kitchen but all marvel at the play of light in the living spaces and the seamless connection the home has with its natural setting.
We packed Miren and Lise as babies into the car and drove them to Florence, Alabama for a personal, early tour of the Rosenbaum house renovation. They played contentedly under the carport while Craig studied every facet of the renovated home (including perusing through the large trash bins that held the construction debris from the process). They laughed with me at their father as we sat in the car in various places, Jackson, Chattanooga, the Mississippi Coast (pre-Katrina) and watched him knock on doors. We showed surprise and excitement as the owners graciously allowed Craig to show us the exquisitely simple living spaces.
Always willing participants on our architectural jaunts, Lise and Miren now display an interest that makes our explorations more fun. At first graciously, then more genuinely, they study the details of the Pope-Leighey house pointed out to them by their father. The horizontal lines that span the length of the house and converge into shelves for books on one side of the public space and for dishes on the other side warrant a quick discussion about visually expanding spaces. A quick lesson on the composition of flat roofs becomes tolerable with a gentle swing of the rain chains that hang nearby.
Perhaps the children and I enjoy the youthful exuberance and passion that Craig exhibits on such occasions more that the houses themselves. I see Craig and his work from many angles and to know that his love for architecture is so deeply rooted and intense enables me to see his designs (from sketches to built projects) with a deeper understanding. And more tolerable of the various design projects that occur to our ever evolving home.
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