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In my opinion, Frank Lloyd Wright's most interesting work were his Usonian houses. While they were not the grand Prairie Style masterpieces of his earlier career, they filled one important need of the consumer: they were affordable. Intimate in scale and built using commonly available materials, they still maintained the rich feeling that is so indicative of Wright's work.
The Natural House is the seminal treatise on Wright's Usonian buildings. In these 220 or so pages, he outlines his design philosophy of the mid 1950's and discusses in details the aspects of 21 of his houses plus the furniture that was designed specifically for them.
Not too long ago, I discovered a Usonian house less than a quarter mile from my home of over 10 years. This was amazing to me. Several times a week I go looking for examples of high-end mid-20th century design, and this epic masterpiece has always been a stones throw from my back door! Occasionally I'll drive by just to marvel at that wonderful spectacle hidden amongst the rest of the cookie cutter post war suburban houses.
Found on May 19, 2005 in Saint Louis Park, MN.
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