PRAIRIE SCHOOL

'Prairie School' was a late 19th and early 20th century architectural style, most common to the Midwestern United States.
The style is marked by horizontal lines, flat roofs with broad overhanging eaves, solid construction, craftsmanship, and discipline in the use of ornament, in contrast to previous 19th century design. Horizontal lines were thought to evoke and relate to the native prairie landscape.

Contents

Associated architects

Prairie style houses

See also

References

External links

Associated architects

It is most associated with residences around Chicago built by a generation of architects trained, employed or influenced by Louis Sullivan, but does not include Sullivan himself. These names include:

★ Alfred Caldwell

★ Marion Mahony Griffin

★ Walter Burley Griffin

★ George Grant Elmslie

★ George Washington Maher

★ Philip Maher

★ Dwight Heald Perkins

★ William Gray Purcell

★ E. E. Roberts

★ Claude and Starck

★ William LaBarthe Steele

★ John S. Van Bergen

★ Frank Lloyd Wright

Prairie style houses

Frank Lloyd Wright originated the 'Prairie Style' (open plans, horizontality, natural materials) which was part of the American Arts and Crafts movement (hand craftsmanship, simplicity, function) an alternative to the then dominant Classical Revival Style (Greek forms with occasional Roman influences). He was also heavily influenced by the Idealistic Romantics (better homes would create better people) and the Modernist Movement. Particularly the Minimalists (less is more) and Bauhaus (form follows function), which was a mixture of De Stijl (grid-based design) and Constructivism (which emphasized the structure itself & the building materials), would be influenced by the Prairie School
The Darwin D. Martin House, in Buffalo, NY, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, is a famous prairie style house.

See also

★ St. John's African Methodist Episcopal Church

★ The Villa District, Chicago

★ Oak Park, Illinois

References

★ ''Frank Lloyd Wright & the Prairie School in Wisconsin : An Architectural Touring Guide'' by Kristin Visser. Trails Media Group; 2nd Rev edition (June, 1998). ISBN 1-879483-51-3.

External links

★ Minneapolis Institute of Arts - Prairie School collection

★ The Prairie School Traveler

★ Prairie Styles--An Online Museum of Prairie Style Architecture

★ The Richard Nickel Committee and Photographic Archive