Frank Lloyd Wright was an iconoclast and visionary architect. Here's what I learned from his five-decade career.

1. 11 THINGS I LEARNED FROM
FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT

2. WHO WAS FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT?
• FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT HAS BEEN CALLED THE GREATEST AMERICAN ARCHITECT
• HIS CAREER BEGAN AT THE TURN OF THE CENTURY AND HE WORKED AT DESIGNING BUILDINGS
HIS ENTIRE ADULT LIFE, ALL THE WAY UNTIL HIS DEATH IN 1959, AT AGE 91
• DURING HIS CAREER HE WAS KNOWN FOR HIS UNIQUE DESIGN STYLE, ACTUALLY SEVERAL
UNIQUE DESIGN STYLES, AS HE CONTINUALLY RE-INVENTED HIMSELF
• WRIGHT NEVER TRIED TO FOLLOW TRADITIONAL OR EVEN CONVENTIONAL BUILDING STYLES,
INSTEAD HE FOCUSED ON THE NEEDS OF THE CLIENT, THE LOCATION, AND HIS OWN AESTHETIC
SENSE TO CREATE UNIQUE STRUCTURES THAT ARE STILL ADMIRED TODAY
• HE WAS THE STEVE JOBS OF HIS DAY – AN ICONOCLAST AND REBEL WHO POSSESSED AN
INCREDIBLE SENSE OF VISION
• IN CONTRAST TO HIS PROFESSIONAL AND ARTISTIC GENIUS, HIS PERSONAL LIFE WAS ONE
MARKED BY CLIENT CONFLICT, PERSONAL SCANDAL AND TRAGEDY
• HE IS ALSO CONSIDERED THE INSPIRATION FOR THE PROTAGONIST OF AYN RAND’S “THE
FOUNTAINHEAD”, HOWARD ROARK

3. HAVE A UNIQUE VISION
WRIGHT’S DESIGNS WERE UNLIKE ANYTHING THAT HAD COME
BEFORE. HE DISDAINED HISTORICAL STYLES AND SOUGHT TO
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF NEW MATERIALS AND CONSTRUCTION
TECHNIQUES. HE ALSO BORROWED LIBERALLY FROM
ARCHITECTURE ACROSS THE GLOBE, DRAWING INSPIRATION
JAPANESE, GERMAN AND EVEN
MAYAN STRUCTURES. HIS VISION
WAS COMPREHENSIVE, NOT ONLY
DID HE DESIGN THE BUILDING, BUT
OFTEN ALSO THE FURNITURE, AND
MUCH OF THE ARTWORK.

4. CONTEXT IS EVERYTHING
WRIGHT ALWAYS PAID ATTENTION TO THE SURROUNDINGS OF A BUILDING
BEFORE DESIGNING IT. HE WANTED HIS DESIGNS TO INTEGRATE VISUALLY AND
FUNCTIONALLY INTO THE LOCATION. PAY ATTENTION TO THE ENVIRONMENT IF
YOU WANT TO BE EFFECTIVE. WHAT WORKS IN ONE SETTING WON’T
NECESSARILY WORK IN ANOTHER.

5. GO WHERE THE OPPORTUNITY IS
WRIGHT DESIGNED BUILDINGS
ACROSS THE COUNTRY. WHILE MOST
OF HIS BUILDINGS ARE IN ILLINOIS
AND WISCONSIN, HE ALSO
DESIGNED BUILDINGS IN THE
WESTERN STATES – ARIZONA AND
CALIFORNIA PARTICULARLY. WHEN IS
POPULARITY IN THE UNITED STATES
WANED, HE WENT OVERSEAS AND
DESIGNED A HOTEL IN JAPAN. HE
WAS NOT AFRAID TO TRAVEL OR
EVEN RELOCATE TO TAKE
ADVANTAGES OF OPPORTUNITIES.

6. AGE IS JUST A NUMBER
WRIGHT’S CAREER SPANNED OVER
FIVE DECADES. HIS MOST FAMOUS
WORK, FALLINGWATER, WAS
DESIGNED WHEN HE WAS IN HIS MID-
SIXTIES, WHEN MANY THOUGHT HIM
AS A “HAS-BEEN”. THE MOST
PRODUCTIVE TIME OF HIS CAREER
CAME VERY LATE IN LIFE. HE RECEIVED
COMMISSIONS WHEN HE WAS 90
YEARS OLD.

7. FIND A GOOD MENTOR, ESPECIALLY EARLY
IN YOUR CAREER
WRIGHT HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO BEGIN HIS CAREER WORKING FOR THE FAMOUS
CHICAGO ARCHITECT LOUIS SULLIVAN, WHO GAINED FAME DESIGNING BUILDINGS FOR
THE GREAT CHICAGO EXPOSITION OF 1893. THROUGH SULLIVAN, WRIGHT LEARNED THE
BUSINESS OF ARCHITECTURE, BEYOND BASIC DESIGN. WITHOUT THE EARLY TRAINING HE
RECEIVED WORKING FOR SULLIVAN, HE WOULD HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO BRANCH OUT ON
HIS OWN AS EARLY AS HE DID.

8. DON’T BE AFRAID TO EXPERIMENT, YOU
NEED TO CHANGE TO STAY FRESH
WRIGHT INVENTED THE “PRAIRIE STYLE” OF ARCHITECTURE, STILL POPULAR IN THE MIDWEST, PARTICULARLY CHICAGO
TODAY. HE COULD HAVE DESIGNED PRAIRIE STYLE STRUCTURES THE REST OF HIS LIFE. INSTEAD, HE CHOSE TO
REFRESH HIMSELF BE CREATING NEW STYLES, INCLUDING USONIAN, TEXTILE-BLOCK AND CANTILEVERED CONCRETE.
NOT EVERYTHING WORKED HOWEVER, BUT HIS MISTAKES WERE DUE TO OVER-REACHING, NOT EXCESSIVE CAUTION.

9. THINKING ABOUT WORK IS WORKING
THE INITIAL DESIGNS FOR WRIGHT’S MOST FAMOUS PRIVATE
RESIDENCE, FALLINGWATER, WAS DRAWN IN A MATTER OF
HOURS. HOWEVER, HE SPENT WEEKS STUDYING THE DETAILED
SITE DRAWINGS HIS STAFF HAD MADE THAT SHOWED THE
LOCATION OF EVERY BOULDER AND TREE. BY THE TIME HE SAT
DOWN TO DRAW IT, HE HAD ALREADY DESIGNED THE BUILDING
IN HIS HEAD. THE POINT IS THAT ONE NEEDS TO SPEND TIME
THINKING, IF ONE IS CREATE A UNIQUE AND INNOVATIVE
SOLUTION TO A PROBLEM.

10. YOU MUST ALSO TEACH OTHERS
WRIGHT CREATED THE TALIESIN
FELLOWSHIP, A GROUP OF APPRENTICES
AND ASSISTANTS THAT REMAINED
CONNECTED WITH HIM THROUGHOUT
THEIR CAREERS. BY TEACHING OTHERS,
ONE’S OWN IDEAS BECOME CRYSTALIZED
AND BOTH CAN DRAW INSPIRATION
FROM THE OTHER. TO BECOME A TRUE
MASTER, ONE MUST ALSO TEACH.

11. DON’T RUN OFF WITH THE CLIENT’S WIFE
WRIGHT’S ARTISTIC GENIUS WAS INVERSELY MATCHED BY
HIS PERSONAL SHORTCOMINGS. AFTER TWENTY YEARS OF
MARRIAGE AND SIX CHILDREN, HE LEFT THEM BEHIND TO
CARRY ON WITH THE WIFE OF ONE OF HIS CLIENTS.
SCORNED IN THE AMERICAN PRESS, HE ESCAPED TO EUROPE
TO AVOID SCRUTINY. HE LOST COUNTLESS COMMISSIONS
DUE TO HIS DAMAGED REPUTATION. A BRILLIANT CAREER
COULD HAVE BEEN EVEN GREATER STILL HAD HE CHOSEN
NOT PURSUE A RELATIONSHIP OUT OF PERSONAL VANITY.
THE RELATIONSHIP ENDED IN TRAGEDY, AS HIS PARAMOUR
WAS KILLED ALONG WITH SEVERAL OTHERS BY AN
ENRAGED SERVANT.

12. BUILD YOUR PERSONAL BRAND
PROFESSIONALLY, EVERYTHING HE DID
WAS TO REINFORCE HIS PERSONAL
BRAND. THIS INCLUDED HIS OWN
DISTINCT LETTERING STYLE, HIS
INCLUSION OF A SINGLE RED TILE IN
HIS HOUSES THAT BORE HIS NAME.
WRIGHT DID INTERVIEWS AND
PUBLISHED ARTICLES. LIKE STEVE JOBS
AT APPLE, HE SOUGHT TO DEFINE
CONSUMER TASTE, NOT FOLLOW IT.
WRIGHT KNEW THAT SUCCESS IN HIS PROFESSION WAS DEPENDENT UPON
INFLUENCING CONSUMER TASTES, NOT TRYING TO MATCH THEM. PROFESSIONALLY,
EVERYTHING WRIGHT DID WAS TO REINFORCE HIS PERSONAL BRAND. WRIGHT
KNEW THAT SUCCESS IN HIS PROFESSION WAS DEPENDENT UPON INFLUENCING
CONSUMER TASTES, NOT TRYING TO MATCH THEM.

13. KNOW YOUR TARGET MARKET
WRIGHT MADE A POINT TO UNDERSTAND HIS CUSTOMERS NOT SIMPLY CURRENT ONES, BUT FUTURE CUSTOMERS
AS WELL. HE PROMOTED HIS VISION OF A “PRAIRIE-STYLE” HOUSE IN THE POPULAR “LADIES HOME JOURNAL”
INSTEAD OF ONE OF THE MORE TECHNICAL OR PROFESSIONAL PUBLICATIONS OF THE DAY. WRIGHT
UNDERSTOOD THAT WOMEN WERE THE PRIMARY DECISION-MAKERS IN SELECTING A HOME FOR THE FAMILY.