The Tyranny of Materials

[_honorentheos]

It has been argued that Frank Lloyd Wright's architecture shifted the emphasis of the American home life from the front porch to the back yard, creating more privacy but more isolation in our suburbs, a shift from 'it takes a village' to 'it takes a family'.

I think it would be more fair to say FLW focused his residential architecture on the hearth, which he considered the heart of the home. But certainly away from the front porch.

That said, I think there are too many parts moving that could be blamed for moving America towards suburbia. One could look to the 1939 Worlds Fair, for example, where a vision of an autocentric and autonomous single family home was presented as a glorious future--influenced largely by the auto industry. It's almost eerie to realize how successful that vision has become. But would it have been successful without the industrial ramping up of WWII? The GI bill's influence on (sub)urbanizing America for decades to come?

[_subgenius]

For the curious, look into FLW's "Broadacres" concept.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadacre_City

[_subgenius]

Priesthood above all else

did you mean "dangling" above all else??

[_honorentheos]

For the curious, look into FLW's "Broadacres" concept.

To see Wright as perpetrator rather than one of many, many divergent minds from varied array of disciplines and ideologies shaping the form of American society for decades reflects a common vice among architects generally.

This short overview of Levittown might help put it more in perspective: http://www.ushistoryscene.com/uncategorized/levittown/

[_subgenius]

For the curious, look into FLW's "Broadacres" concept.

To see Wright as perpetrator rather than one of many, many divergent minds from varied array of disciplines and ideologies shaping the form of American society for decades reflects a common vice among architects generally.

This short overview of Levittown might help put it more in perspective: http://www.ushistoryscene.com/uncategorized/levittown/

The Levit boys were architects by the way and my response was specific to the FLW comment, thus the specifics.
Nevertheless, your link highlights the more dramatic shift in America away from architects and towards developers...a notion i mention above about what the real "task" is in modern architecture today.

[_honorentheos]

As I recall my history, only one of the three Levitts was actually an architect. Regardless, the point is that where I tend to disagree with the direction of the thread is when it moved away from architecture as a form of art, which it is, to being the primary driver behind the evolution of American house and community development patterns.

I attended a kick-off meeting last week, by way of example, for a general plan development for a local municipality. In attendance were planners, attorneys, representatives from the police department, the fire department, parks and recreation department, transportation and drainage engineers, economic development, and a socio-economics expert. Building architects were not represented nor have I ever really seen them involved in this type of exercise.

To quote a Seinfeld episode,

GEORGE: Besides, Steven Koren has the highest of aspirations. He wants to be… an architect!

WYCK: Is that right?

STEVEN: Actually, maybe I could set my sights a little bit higher.

GEORGE: Steven, nothing is higher than an architect.

STEVEN: I think I’d really like to be a city planner. Why limit myself to just one building, when I can design a whole city?

WYCK: Well, that’s a good point.

GEORGE: No, it’s not.

STEVEN: Well, isn’t an architect just an art school drop-out with a tilty desk, and a big ruler?

GEORGE: It’s called a T-square.

WYCK: You know, the stupidest guy in my fraternity became an architect – after he flunked out of dental school! Congratulations, young man.

[_subgenius]

which brings us back to the OP....