Frank Lloyd Wright S Sc Johnson Research Tower

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.

Thoroughly researched study of the design and construction of this radical, inspiring workplace draws on much unpublished archival material.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.

Racine, Wisconsin, which celebrates its role as invention city, welcomed the architectural innovations of Frank Lloyd Wright and is now the site of many examples of Wright's designs of private homes and public structures. Hertzberg, photography director at the Racine Journal Times, has created a history of Wright's work in Racine using photograph

The Wright idea "The interior space itself is the reality of the building." - Frank Lloyd Wright Widely thought to be the greatest American architect, Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959) was a true pioneer, both artistically and technically. At a time when reinforced concrete and steel were considered industrial building materials, Wright boldly made use of them to build private homes. His prairie house concept--that of a low, sprawling home based upon a simple L or T figure--was the driving force behind some of his most famous houses and became a model for rural architecture across America. Wright`s designs for office and public buildings were equally groundbreaking and unique. From Fallingwater to New York`s Guggenheim Museum, his works are among the most famous in the history of architecture. About the Series: Each book in TASCHEN's Basic Architecture Series features: an introduction to the life and work of the architect the major works in chronological order information about the clients, architectural preconditions as well as construction problems and resolutions a list of all the selected works and a map indicating the locations of the best and most famous buildings approximately 120 illustrations (photographs, sketches, drafts and plans)

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.

Chicago Architectural Club, 1894-1914 -- The Work of Frank Lloyd Wright, 1893-1930 and Modern Architecture : International Exhibition, Museum of Modern Art, 1932 -- Broadacre City, 1935 -- Museum of Modern Art, 1933-53 -- The Italian exhibition and Sixty Years of Living Architecture, 1951-56 -- Coda: 1957-59 -- Conclusion -- Appendix A. Chronological list of exhibitions -- Appendix B. Chronological list of models

Prairie Skyscraper traces the history and evolution of Wright's recently restored nineteen-story-skyscraper masterwork, which takes its place beside the S.C. Johnson Wax Research Tower as one of Wright's only two vertical structures-and, at 221 feet tall-his largest.