Whenever we visit a famous city, we admire the cathedrals, the opera theatres, the museums, the palaces, and often not just the buildings from decades or centuries past. We might even exclaim 'How the heck did they build that??' But are we ever considering who was the Architect, whose brain and imagination conceived the design and then translated it into reality? PDG Ross Smith, whose "real" career spans roughly 50 years of teaching and, as principal, managing High Schools, lists Architecture as one of his special interests. Ross' On-Line presentation last Wednesday revealed a deep love of this artistic profession. He picked one of the world's most famous Architects, Frank Lloyd Wright, as his subject. To give you an idea how famous: The UNESCO World Heritage last year added 7 buildings to its list. All of them were designed by him. "Architecture equals Form and Function, in our living and working lives" he is quoted as saying. 'Form' can be associated with 'Memorial', 'Function' as in 'Factory'. Ross recalled his assessment of the High School building, when he commenced work as Principal; it was anything but functional!
Over the next 20 minutes, Ross introduced us to a number of Wright's extraordinary designs. Of the commercial buildings, the most outstanding one would be the Guggenheim Museum On New York's 5th Avenue. It is not just round, it is a spiral, wider at the top than at the bottom! (see photo right of Ross on the inside) Click here for a 'walk-through'. And, keep in mind, this was designed and built a long time before Computer Aided Design (CAD); all done by slide rule and log tables. His private residence designs would be topped by 'Fallingwater', originally designed as... a holiday retreat! It is - literally - built over a waterfall. No garage, but 6 car ports...
In total, Wright designed over 500 buildings. Some designs are just a little bit unusual. For example, a grand piano was built into a wall where on the other side it hangs out above a hallway. Some buildings, such as the Hollihock House on Sunset Boulevard, on the one hand were outrageously expensive to build, yet have never been lived in!
Well, what can I say! This came from left field. I knew that Ross was a highly accomplished and respected High School Principal. But also very well read in Architecture? The depth, the knowledge of our fellow Rotarians never cease to amaze me.