ARCHITECT

Innovator.

Frank Lloyd Wright was one of America's—and the world's—most innovative and creative architects. He began his sixty-six-year career copying past styles and went on to play an important part in the establishment of modern architecture. Wright experimented with steel and concrete cantilevers and poured concrete; he was one of the first architects to see the aesthetic value of concrete blocks. He designed buildings of custom-cast blocks with patterns. He also introduced open planning, creating spaces that flowed into each other rather than separating them into distinct rooms. The critic Lewis Mumford said that Wright "altered the inner rhythm of the modern building." Wright was also interested in the creative possibilities of the machine and frequently used factory-manufactured products in his buildings.

Early Life and Training.

Wright was born in Richland Center, Wisconsin, in 1867....