Guest Post by Marysa Sheren

Frank Lloyd Wright’s birthday is June 8.  On that day we remember a truly inspirational man whose legacy has been formative to the development of the field of architecture in America and around the globe.

Over the course of his lifetime Wright designed more than 400 built structures, the most celebrated of which include the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City as well as the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo.  He also designed the amazing Fallingwater House, pictured below.

Wright’s work is distinguished by his great attention to detail, his embrace of organic architecture and use of glass as a means of allowing interaction with natural elements. 

Born in Richland Center, Wisconsin in 1867, Wright always demonstrated an uncanny affinity for building things, and spent much of his childhood playing with geometrically-shaped blocks.  Unfortunately, though, his youth was marked by financial hardship and a dysfunctional family life.  Forced to assume financial responsibility for his mother and sisters after his parents underwent a divorce, he was never able to graduate from high school.

Despite these challenges, Wright has been acknowledged to be one of the greatest if not the greatest American architect of all time. 

Without a high school or college diploma, Wright moved to Chicago in search of work, which he found at an architecture firm.  He would, of course, eventually go on to establish himself as a respected and prolific master of his craft.  In 1995, he was honored with an honorary doctorate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Inspiring Quotes by Frank Lloyd Wright:

“An idea is salvation by imagination.”
-Frank Lloyd Wright

“A great architect is not made by way of a brain nearly so much as he is made by way of a cultivated, enriched heart.”
-Frank Lloyd Wright

“Freedom is from within.”
-Frank Lloyd Wright