Frank Lloyd Wright And The Johnson Wax Buildings

Thoroughly researched study of the design and construction of this radical, inspiring workplace draws on much unpublished archival material. From the genesis of the structurally unique Administration Building — its design development, innovations, and furnishings — to the construction and completion of the Research Towers, Lipman presents a wealth of information. 172 black-and-white illustrations.

Frank Lloyd Wright's SC Johnson Research Tower in Racine, Wisconsin, is one of modern architecture's most significant landmarks. Completed in 1950, the fifteen-story skyscraper is the only existing example of Wright's ambitious taproot design. Like limbs from a tree trunk, alternating square floors and round mezzanines branch out from the weight-bearing central core—a truly revolutionary idea at the time and an engineering marvel today.In 1943 H. F. Johnson Jr., president of the SC Johnson & Son Company, commissioned Wright (1867–1959) to create a new laboratory space that would be as innovative as the research and development team working inside it. The architect eagerly accepted the challenge, envisioning a vertical complement to the firm's streamlined Administration Building, designed by Wright seven years prior. The result was a new kind of skyscraper, one with double-height spaces, windows made of Pyrex glass tubing, and stripes of Wright's signature Cherokee red brick, all balanced on a small pedestal base—the Tower's sinewy core. Although the Tower opened to great acclaim in 1950, it closed just thirty-one years later. Despite its ingenious structure, the building ultimately proved to be an impractical model of urban-industrial architecture.Frank Lloyd Wright's SC Johnson Research Tower investigates the rise and fall of this remarkable building. Bruce Brooks Pfeiffer, director of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation Archives, provides an insightful Foreword, while Mark Hertzberg's text explores the design, the construction, and—through interviews with Johnson employees—the experience of working within Wright's iconic Tower. A photo essay titled "The Tower Rises" chronicles the construction with historical photographs, and Hertzberg's artful photographs document the Tower—inside and out—as it appears today.

For coloring book enthusiasts and architecture students — 44 finely detailed renderings of Wright home and studio, Unity Temple, Guggenheim Museum, Robie House, Imperial Hotel, more.

Frank Lloyd Wright's innovative streamlined brick and glass Administration Building and Research Tower, built for the company of S. C. Johnson & Son, are landmarks in the history of both American architecture and in building for the working environment. The Administration Building, designed during the Depression, was a beacon of holistic office architecture design. Wright was responsible for conceiving everything from the innovative structural system to the furniture. The phenomenal success of the building led S. C. Johnson to employ Wright again to design the striking Research Tower. This remarkable addition, planned to house the laboratories for industrial research and product development, was the tallest building Wright had built to that date.

With four color photographs throughout, this is a spectacular look at the most famous of Wright's public buildings, including corporate structures, churches, hotels, and museums. This remarkable book features some of his greatest designs--Unity Temple, the Guggenheim Museum, Price Tower, Japan's Imperial Hotel, and many others.