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At the house's entry is a spacious entry vestibule with low ceilings that allows access to the two entertaining spaces and a series of stairs leading you up to the second level. Outside the entertaining spaces, along the street, is a long rectangular courtyard with a low brick wall to keep the children off the street. Wright would design the enclosed car court accessible off the street that allowed vehicular access to an attached garage. The concept of an attached garage was rare at the time, given the possible combustion from cars. The house was designed for Frederick C. Robie, a bicycle manufacturer, who did not want a home done in the typical Victorian style.
Architect
Wright designed the furniture, carpets, and textiles for most Prairie houses. However, Wright-designed furniture in the Robie House was only constructed for the entrance hall, the living and dining rooms, guest bedroom, and one bed for the third-floor bedrooms. Some of these pieces are attributed to Wright's interior design collaborator George Mann Niedecken. Robie's financial situation following his father's death may be the explanation for why the entire house was not furnished with furniture of Wright's designs. The entrance to the house is found at the end of long, sheltered path, almost at the rear of the property. To find it, the visitor walks a path of discovery, experiencing the building from different viewpoints, and gaining a better understanding of its design.
Wright's Life & Work
The westernmost bay of the garage originally contained a mechanic's pit, and the easternmost bay contained equipment to wash and clean automobiles. On the second floor of the minor vessel is a guest bedroom above the entrance hall and an adjoining full bath. East of the back stairway are the kitchen and butler's pantry, and the servants' sitting room. Two bedrooms and a full bathroom above the garage complete the quarters for the live-in servants. While Wright’s Prairie houses are typically horizontal like the Midwest landscape, the Robie House site helped Wright determine the design of the building.
Tour and Ticket Information
He was mid-30s in age at the time and, typical of the new style, his houses displayed low-pitched roofs and extended, horizontal lines that blend into the landscape. The Robie House is a renowned example of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Prairie style of architecture, which was characterized by its close relationship with the Midwest prairie landscape and its use of horizontal lines, art-glass windows, and Roman brick. Wright designed not only the house itself but also all of its interiors, fixtures, and furnishings, viewing them as integral parts of the structure’s overall character. Discover the house Frank Lloyd Wright described as “a cornerstone of modern architecture” on this guided tour that takes in both the exterior and interior of the building. Inspired by the expansive landscape of the Midwest prairie, Wright’s Robie House is the most famous of the architect’s groundbreaking Prairie houses.
Home and Studio Map and Directions
AD Classics: Frederick C. Robie House / Frank Lloyd Wright - ArchDaily
AD Classics: Frederick C. Robie House / Frank Lloyd Wright.
Posted: Sun, 16 May 2010 07:00:00 GMT [source]
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Two angled rooms at the ends further reinforce the idea that space is extended outward. The house is divided into two wings, keeping the public areas toward the street and the service areas near the innermost sections of the house. The symmetry is an illusion, because the elevated terrace of the western end of the house is balanced by the wall of the courtyard to opening to service the eastern end. News from Dezeen Events Guide, a listings guide covering the leading design-related events taking place around the world. Sent every Thursday and featuring a selection of the best reader comments and most talked-about stories.
Ground Floor
Wright believed that designing his houses in harmony with nature would improve the health and well-being of the families that lived within. While the Robie House is built on a narrow lot without space for a large garden, Wright designed balconies and terraces at every level which he filled with flowers and shrubs. He created a sense of harmony with nature through his use of colors and materials. The color of the bricks, limestone, plaster, clay roof tiles, and copper gutters all work together to suggest the landscape of the prairie. Of the approximately 500 structures designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, about 400 of them were actually built.
Art Glass Windows
The low, hipped roof with its wide and projecting eaves, and the narrow brick with raked, horizontal mortar joints reinforce the dominant horizontality. Wright enriched the interior with furnishings, light fixtures, rugs and art glass. In 1957, the building was saved from demolition by a realty company that later transferred ownership to the University of Chicago. For one day only, homeowners invite guests into their private living spaces, which retain the original exterior features while the interiors have been transformed to suit their individual tastes and lifestyles. Guides will be on hand to enhance the interior tours with details about the history and the beautiful architectural elements that give each home its unique character. The renowned annual Wright Plus Housewalk features rare interior tours of private residences and landmark public structures designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and his fellow architects.
National Landmark
Steel beams in the ceilings and floors carry most of the building's weight to piers at the east and west ends. As a result, the exterior walls have little structural function, and thus are filled with doors and windows containing 174 art glass panels in 29 different designs. Instead of stylized forms from Nature, a favorite Wright motif, geometric forms predominate.
The Robie House is stunning, and its significance in American architectural history cannot be denied. However, the space plan of the home seemed rigid and uncomfortable for me. It may have resulted from the low ceilings and proportion of the interior spaces, which seemed inadequate and cramped. This may have been a product of the time it was built, because they did not build spaces to the scale we do today. One of the key design features is a series of site walls extending out from the home's base.
In 1997, the university, which owns the house, entered into an agreement with the trust to manage, operate, and restore it. Restoration of the house’s interior involved its main entry hall and stairway; the billiard room and children’s playroom on the ground floor; and the living room, dining room, and guest bedroom on the main floor. Gunny Harboe of Chicago-based Harboe Architects, who has also worked on Wright’s Unity Temple in Oak Park, Illinois, outside Chicago; Taliesen West in Scottsdale, Arizona; and Beth Sholom Synagogue in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, outside Philadelphia. The band of windows continues above what had originally been a three car garage, but now acts as the Robie House gift shop (above). That same area is now enclosed by an 8 foot high brick wall, creating a private courtyard at the east end of the home.
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