Created Prairie style
Frank Lloyd Wright started his architecture career at the height of the Victorian era, when the “More is more” philosophy dominated architecture. As he walked through Chicago and his neighborhood in Oak Park, he saw the tall, heavily decorated buildings with distinctive European classical elements. Wright preferred simplicity, clean lines, and an emphasis on width rather than height. The interior was an open concept; most rooms would flow in to one another rather than the disjointed cluster of rooms in other Victorian styles. He wanted his architecture to be an extension of the landscape, to improve upon it rather than fighting with it. Wright’s Prairie Style reflects the mindset of architects moving into the early 20th Century Arts and Crafts era – honest designs that evoke the structural elements, hand crafted woodwork, ribbon windows and earthy colors. Wright wanted Prairie Style to be fresh and distinctly American.