FLW+The+Prairie+Houses



As with most of his other houses, Frank Lloyd Wright designed his prairie houses to be in harmony with nature. Frank experimented with each new prairie house, but most had a basic concept of having no attics or basement. This was somewhat of a strange idea, but Frank thought that the the basement and attic were rooms for things that should be thrown away.

Frank belived that houses should be made of natural building materials like unpainted wood and bricks the color of the clay that they were made of. The look of the prairie was emphasized by the the use of horizontal bars and lines on the outside and as many of the windows. The living areas of these houses opened up into one large room. The only divisions between these rooms was one giant fireplace and walls that did not always touch the ceiling. Most of these houses had patios, terraces, and flower gardens.

Since the houses had no attics, the roof was able to reach out past the walls as if they were reaching out to touch the ground. Without basements the houses appeared to be planted in the ground. Frank never left out a special play area for the children. Some of the playrooms had stained glass windows reminiscent of the Froebel Blocks. One specific playroom had a tiny American flag in a window.

In 1908 an inventor named Fredrick C. Robie asked Frank to do a very special project that would later be known as the Robie House.

"Prairie House" Online Image http://www.aia.org/aiarchitect/thisweek05/tw0701/tw0701gaines.htm
 * Citation**

Thorne-Thompson, Kathleen. __[|Frank Lloyd Wright for Kids]__. 1st edition. Chicago: Chicgo Review Press, 1994.

"Flag Window" Online Image http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/arch/index.php