Ready-made projects of modern houses in the Wright style. Let's learn about the project of a house in the Wright style. Let's get acquainted with the features of the style. Interior design in the Wright style (prairie style) Wright residential building projects

Frank Lloyd Wright - American architect, founder of organic architecture - was born on June 8, 1867 in Richland Center, Wisconsin, into the family of a church leader and a teacher. Receiving knowledge at home, he did not attend secondary school. Studied for a year at the Engineering Faculty of the University of Wisconsin. After that, he left “to free bread” and in 1887 moved to Chicago, where he ended up in the architectural studio of Joseph Lyman Silsbee. In 1893, Wright already had his own workshop in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park. Innovative in Wright's work was the use of prefabricated reinforced concrete blocks with reinforcement, panel heating, the use of air conditioners, and diffuse lighting. He also proposed to base the design, first of all, on landscape conditions, and during his career he managed to build 363 objects.

1. Roby House (Chicago, Illinois, USA, 1910)

Belongs to the "Prairie Houses" series, so named because of the abundance of horizontal lines, eaves and flat roofs that resemble the prairie. Asymmetrical shape, strip glazing, horizontal orientation. Large roof overhangs give a feeling of security and protection from the sun's rays. The heart of the house is the fireplace. The scale of the building to a person is clearly visible.

2. House Over the Falls (Bur Run, Pennsylvania, USA, 1939)

By the 1930s, after a very fruitful period, Wright's work began to stagnate. To improve his situation, the architect organized the Taliesin art studio in his residence. Edgar Kaufman comes there to study. It was thanks to this acquaintance that Wright received an order from Kaufman’s parents to design a country house, which became one of the architect’s most famous creations.

3. Taliesin Complex (Spring Green, Wisconsin, 1911-1925)

The project, like the Roby House, belongs to the “Prairie Houses”. Characteristic features of the complex: low shingled roofs, stone walls, terraces cutting into the landscape. The main building of the complex has a U-shaped plan. One of its wings is Wright's residence with 3 bedrooms, a dining room, a kitchen and a loggia. After construction, the house suffered from fires twice and was completely rebuilt.

4. Yamamura House (Ashiya, Japan, 1924)

The only building designed by Wright that has survived in Japan. A long road through a picturesque valley leads to the house. At the main entrance, right in the walls, there are lavas for relaxing and contemplating the surroundings. The center of the interior is the fireplace - Wright often used this technique in his projects. As a tribute to Japanese traditions, the walls are partially made of clay. A series of trapezoidal pipes were successfully integrated into the landscape. Also noteworthy are the vaulted ceiling and the elongated southern balcony, from which you can see the mountains, sea, and cityscape.

5. BethShalom Synagogue (Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, USA, 1959)

The building is designed in Art Nouveau style. An expressive element is the translucent pyramidal roof, symbolizing Mount Sinai. The architect was also inspired by Mayan buildings, so the volume was formed using 2 triangular prisms, placed on top of each other and forming a hexagon in plan - the Star of David.

6. Hotel Imperial (Tokyo, Japan, 1915)

In the project, it was important for Wright to take into account the seismological features of the area and achieve the stability of the building. Thanks to the cantilever suspension of the floors, as well as a powerful “floating” foundation that went 18 m into the ground, the building survived the earthquake in 1923.

7. Johnson Wax Company Office (Racine, Wisconsin, USA, 1936)

The project is interesting because the building, measuring 69x69 m, has no windows. The architect used special tree-like columns in the interior. Special lighting creates favorable working conditions, despite the lack of direct sunlight. The furniture was also designed by Wright, as in many of his other projects.

8. Herbert Jacobs House (Middleton, Wisconsin, USA, 1944)

The solar semicircle is the name of the plan that Wright came up with for designing in northern climates. The building has the shape of a semicircle, the northern side of which is elevated and completely insulated, and the southern side is composed of double-layer windows and doors to allow solar heat to penetrate the house even in winter.

9. Larkin Company Office (Buffalo, New York, USA, 1906)

The red sandstone building is 61 m high and 41 m wide. Here Wright used stained glass windows with steel frames and sculptural elements to decorate the facade. The interior walls were made from a combination of light-colored brick and glass-like material to allow sunlight to easily penetrate. Due to the bankruptcy of the Larkin company, despite protests from the architectural society, the building was demolished in 1950.

10. Solomon Guggenheim Museum of Modern Art (New York, USA, 1959)

Named after its founder Robert Solomon Guggenheim. Built and designed over 16 years. From the outside, the museum is an inverted spiral; inside, the interior resembles a shell, in the center of which is a glassed courtyard. According to the architect's plan, viewing the exhibition should begin from the top, taking the elevator. The descent is supposed to be along a ramp, along which (as well as in the adjacent halls) works of art are located. The reality is that the inspection occurs from the bottom up.

On our website for the design and construction of houses there is a detailed description of Lloyd Wright, an American architect of the 20th century. He created a style, otherwise called the prairie style, whose influence on modern design is enormous. It is still considered a modern, comfortable and organic choice for a country house.

But in addition to creating architectural projects, Wright was closely involved in interior design. Moreover, pursuing the ideas of functionality and natural beauty in every detail, he himself made furniture for interior decoration.

These interiors are relevant to this day, worthy of continuing the traditions of Wrightian architecture.

As for the characteristic features of the prairie style?

• horizontally extended buildings
• combination of minimalist geometry with natural forms
• segmentation of individual sections of the building
• ethnic motifs of the wild west and oriental temples
• ...and much more, but you can get acquainted with the details in the main article about architecture

Form

The first thing that will catch your eye if you find yourself in such a house is the integrity of the space of the room with furniture.

Interior items are selected to emphasize the elongated squatness of this style - there are fewer vertical lines and they are shorter. However, this does not mean at all that such a house will have little space!

On the contrary, the prairie style means high ceilings, panoramic windows, large spaces and lots of light. In its desire for functional space, the prairie style is somewhat reminiscent of a loft. But if the loft was a historical necessity, then Wright's interiors were a historical innovation.

The interior design also adopted the angularity and segmentation of the exterior architecture. Square (or simply angular) lamps can create a special atmosphere - they simultaneously evoke associations with paper lanterns from the everyday life of Asian cultures and emphasize the strict geometry of the style.

A common design solution is the simplest possible single-color cabinets, a different color from the walls - every detail plays to create a feeling of integrity from many angular segments. By the way, it is for this reason that in the prairie style, instead of the standard division into rooms using walls, you can find borders from decoration: the kitchen has painted walls, and the dining room is finished with stonework.

Colors

In terms of color solutions, the prairie style is based on minimalism - neutral, calm and restrained. Of course, a few bright spots will not spoil and will even enliven the picture, but the main “filler” will be calm and natural shades: white, gray, sand, brown.

What’s interesting is that despite all the emphasized naturalness, Wright’s interiors are rarely painted green. You are also unlikely to find elaborate patterns or randomness of colors.

The prairie style favors combinations, but only those that are neutrally perceived by the eye, and at the same time emphasize the characteristic features: angularity, segmentation, naturalness, simplicity.

Convenience

With this, thanks to the parent of style - minimalism - there will be no problems. The interior will have everything you need and a little more: just in case and so as not to leave a void. Like all relatives of minimalist styles, Wright's style puts convenience and functionality first or one of the first places.

Such interiors “remember” that a house is a home not only for the eyes, but also for the body. However, Raitevsky style, due to its originality, unusualness and harmony, perfectly fulfills all these functions: both convenience and aesthetics.

This also dictates the choice of furniture. It is simple, geometric and extremely comfortable. Square bedside tables with neat handles, tightly knit and reliable wood, squat and stable beds. The entire interior will breathe reliability, but will not lose its lightness.

Accessories

There is nothing superfluous and yet there is something. The borderline state of the prairie style - between strict geometry, natural simplicity and ethnic details, allows it to accept almost everything.

In this article we will analyze the architectural features, as well as designs of houses in the Wright style. First, it’s worth understanding what the layout and interior of a house in the Wright style is.

The style received this name from its creator, Frank Lloyd Wright. This is an American architect who made a huge push in the development of Western architecture in the 20th century. In discussing his style, we must say that the article will talk about the direction of the prairies. Wright borrowed the idea of ​​building houses from the flat steppes of the USA. We can easily verify this by seeing such a house in person or in photographs. The horizontal orientation and lowness of the house seem to be trying to merge it with the horizon.

Another feature by which Wright-style houses can be easily recognized is their roofs. As a rule, they have a very low angle of inclination, and sometimes they are completely horizontal. They also extend several tens of centimeters beyond the main foundation of the house, as if covering the main part with some kind of “hat”.

When creating the project, the architect also drew a lot of design inspiration from such a popular trend as minimalism. Nowadays, it is especially often used in the construction of houses or interior design. Using modern styles and materials, he was able to combine these two trends.

Well, one cannot help but say that Wright was a man who loved nature very much. Therefore, his houses were located exclusively in natural landscapes. The territory before the process of building his houses was never leveled or dug; they built on what was available. Therefore, you can easily find a Wright Prairie style house, for example, near a waterfall or even above it. All this only gives us a general picture of a Wright-style house. Let's take a closer look at all its features.

Features and main features of houses in the Wright style

We have already touched on this point a little higher - the horizontality and the tendency of the house to “reach” to the ground. Even two-story houses in the Wright style are an order of magnitude lower than the usual two-story house built according to a simple design.

Smooth angles and regular geometric shapes give the building a neat and minimalist appearance, which emphasizes the regular shape of the building. Thanks to this feature, such houses blend very organically with the natural landscape of the surrounding area.

Segmentation

This feature gives an unusual effect to a house built in the Wright style. Looking at it from the outside, one gets the impression that the building was erected from separate rooms or solid rectangles. This is achieved by dividing the interfloor covering into segments. This effect is especially noticeable in two-story houses. And to make it all look more complete, and also not to compromise the strength of the building, they often resort to the use of columns during its construction.

Naturalness of finishing materials

Wright-style houses are built from natural, natural materials. Wood, granite, and sometimes even marble are widely used. Concrete and glass are also used.

Large panoramic windows

The house would have looked completely different if panoramic windows had not been installed during its construction. By the way, they complement a one-story house in the Wright style well. The whole shape of the building leads to this decision - the horizontality and lowness of the house, which, by the way, allows you to make the house lower without spoiling the appearance, the correct geometry of the walls and even corners. Moreover, this size of windows improves the appearance of the house both outside and inside. Large windows provide good lighting, which will help with its interior decoration. By the way, we will also touch on this, but a little later.

The final factor that characterizes a Wright-style house is its unity with nature. This explains that mostly houses in this style are built somewhere near a forest with a nearby river, far from civilization and a noisy city. Even indoors, we can often see large pots of green plants. In such houses, you undoubtedly get the opportunity to relax your soul and body, reading a novel on a large sofa by the fireplace and drinking a cup of hot coffee.

Interior decoration and interior of a house in the Wright style

Touching upon the topic of interior decoration of such houses, it is worth remembering its main uniqueness - minimalism and simplicity. Natural materials and simple design, regular geometric shapes of furniture and other decorative elements are used both outside and inside the house.

Here we can find chandeliers made in a rectangular shape of a wall with rectangular corners, etc. In this style there is no place, for example, for a round carpet or oval-shaped glass.

A house in the Wright style implies only clear, even, geometric shapes. There are a huge number of options for finishing a house in the Wright style in the photo, it’s worth paying attention.

As for the color scheme used in the interior decoration of the house, everything is simple. Basically, the walls, floors and furniture are made in warm, calm, natural colors. That is, in most cases these are beige and brown shades that characterize natural wood.

Less common, but still found, are variations with white shades. However, such colors usually resemble houses whose interiors are decorated in the Art Nouveau style. You can also use shades of gray, which also looks quite serious and businesslike. In general, there are no strict rules here; the main feature is natural materials.

Wright architectural style or Orient is common in modern residential construction.

He “came” to Russia from amazing and beautiful Japan, introducing oriental flavor into the development of architecture.

The main feature of Wright style houses- These are interesting flat-shaped roofs that look very unusual. They have large offsets, which is also typical for this direction.

The famous American architect Frank Lloyd Wright was the founder of this style in America and Europe.

Features of the Wright style

The style is considered very organic for country houses and cottages.

The famous architect himself was of the opinion that buildings should be squat and angular.

Luxurious pilasters and majestic columns are not his direction.

Houses created in the Wright style should be a continuation of the earth, that is, they should look as natural as possible - nothing pretentious or shocking.

Also, this style direction is characterized by segmented buildings.

These are one-story or two-story eclectic houses.

Natural wood and natural stone are successfully combined with concrete and glass finishing elements. Houses built in the Wright style are small, contrasting buildings that are rarely seen in Russia.

Decorated facades are not typical for this architectural trend. The highlight of the style is the huge panoramic windows that allow you to fill the interior space with natural light.

When constructing suburban buildings, Wright's style has long been in great demand. Over the years, its popularity has only increased.

Real fans functionality, aesthetics and laconic details should appreciate such an architectural design.

Features of house projects in the Wright style

The houses, which were built according to the plans of the famous American architect, have long become historical monuments. But this style continues to be actively used in the creation of new residential buildings.

What Wright's house designs look like? They may have their own nuances, but the general direction will still be visible.

To the main features, inherent in all such structures include:

• Large wide windows;
• Using Horizontal Lines;
• Feeling of the integrity of the building, divided into segments;
• Hinged flat roofs with original finish;
• Combination of minimalism with natural, natural forms.

Architectural projects in this style are characterized by a combination of several materials.

Plaster, marble and brick look perfect together and create a feeling of some kind of solidity and impressiveness of the buildings.

Modernism is closest to Wright's style in its unique features.

Therefore, in the project you can take into account the creation of an original staircase with wrought iron railings with leaf-shaped patterns. However, much should depend on the individual wishes of the customer himself.

In houses you can combine rectangular volumes in different planes.

Depending on the project unique interior interiors are created.

For example, a combined living room and kitchen, as well as separate bathrooms and toilets, can occupy the largest areas.

The remaining area can be evenly distributed between the hall and hallway. A Wright-style house with a small summer terrace is the preferred option for many customers.

The project may include long roof overhangs.

This design protects from excessive sunlight entering the room in the hot summer and allows you not to hang blinds. Developing an architectural and structural design plan can take approximately one and a half months.

In “Wright style” houses, a certain integrity of the space of the room with furniture immediately catches the eye.

Typically, designers select interior items in such a way that there are as few vertical lines as possible. This provides plenty of free space.

The segmentation and angularity of the external architecture is reflected in the interior.

Square lamps, suspended from the ceilings, create an even greater feeling of limitless space.

Style color scheme

Wright's style involves unique combinations. Decorating a dining room with natural stone and a standard kitchen will be an excellent example of subordination to this architectural direction.

As for the color scheme, preference is given to calm and neutral shades. But the randomness of colors and elaborate gilded patterns clearly will not correspond to the classical ideas about Wright’s houses.

When developing a project, it would be appropriate to remember about the combination of ethnic features and minimalism. Prairie style (Wright) always amazes with its simplicity and uniqueness. Externally identical houses differ in the original features of their interior decoration.

Unfortunately, projects of such residential buildings are not in great demand in Russia. Only little by little these Japanese houses with flat roofs are starting to be erected in some cities.

Photos of houses

In the photographs taken by professional photographers, you can see the main features inherent in “right” houses.

You can apply many epithets to them. But the best description would be a bright and expressive photograph, allowing you to once again be convinced of the uniqueness of the style.

A doctor can bury his mistake, an architect can only cover the walls with ivy.

In the first half of the 20th century, the American Frank Lloyd Wright (1869-1959) developed the idea of ​​organic architecture proposed by Louis Sullivan (1856-1924) and founded his own style - “prairie houses”.

Organic architecture reveals and emphasizes the natural properties and forms of living nature and integrates buildings organically into the landscape. Wright took advantage of the basic principles of this philosophy; “Prairie style” further began to develop separately, and organic architecture grew into bio-tech (the opposite of high-tech).

Wright's style: history and modernity

Wright-style houses are otherwise called “prairie houses”, as their appearance was mainly influenced by the endless American prairies. Indeed, buildings in this style are wide, squat, as if they are trying to merge with the horizon; natural color schemes used in the style - brown, sand, gray - also help the house to “get lost” against the background of nature.

A house should never be on a hill or anything. It must be part of the hill. Belong to him. The hill and the house should live together, one happier than the other.

So, a few characteristic features of “prairie houses”:

• location on a hill (to achieve maximum illumination inside);
• wide windows;
• low number of storeys (most often - one spacious floor, which seems to be trying to hug the ground);
• fancy, but comfortable and functional forms of buildings (T-shaped, L-shaped, X-shaped);
• a large number of horizontal lines;
• a substantial fireplace or, less commonly, a hearth in the center of the house;
• maximum rejection of partitions and use of zoning of internal space. Usually only the bathroom and (sometimes) the sleeping area are separated.

Despite the fact that the classic "prairie house" is a single floor with a rather low ceiling, it is spacious: the architect skillfully uses all the space from top to bottom. For example, in one of the houses that Wright personally designed, there is a wide mezzanine along the entire perimeter: it forms an additional mezzanine and adds useful space. For some reason, this technique is not often used in architecture, although it is functional and interestingly played out by designers.

The influence of Eastern culture on Wright's style

Wright was a passionate admirer of Asian culture, so his architectural style adopted some features from oriental temples:

• angularity and segmentation;
• the wide flat shapes of the buildings themselves, their roofs and furnishings;
• harmonious “flow” of the house into the garden and vice versa (for example, through a partially covered terrace, patio, etc.).

Moreover, at the beginning of the 20th century, Wright went to work in Japan and he himself had no less influence on his Japanese colleagues (Kazuyo Sejima, Kengo Kuma, Takaharu Tezuka) than their predecessors had on him.

Wright always viewed nature from a practical rather than an abstract point of view. When he used natural materials, they came to life.

Residents in his houses never come into contact with a cold, rational atmosphere. When he created comfortable spaces, they became environmentally friendly.

Wright's style today

“Prairie Houses” are not only elite individual projects, but also a number of budget developments. In biographies of Wright, these works belong to the "Usonian" period. These are compact, ergonomic and economical houses, the construction of which uses frame technologies.

Being an ardent supporter of de-urbanization, Wright even created the “City of Broad Horizons” project, a concept for developing low-rise buildings in the suburbs. There his developments of frame “prairie houses” were used.

Wright style house inside and out. Construction and finishing materials

Wright himself used brick, concrete blocks and monolithic reinforced concrete (“House over the Waterfall”) for load-bearing structures, and wood and natural stone for finishing. Not least among the materials is glass: this is required by huge “French” windows that span the entire height of the wall.

Disadvantages of traditional solutions

• If the house is built from materials traditional to the Wright style, then the foundation cannot always be made lighter. For example, a reinforced concrete structure on marshy soil will require a pile-screw foundation with a grillage or, for example, TISE.
• If wood is chosen as the construction material, you will need good fire, bio and moisture protection.
• Not only are brick and concrete themselves “cold” materials, there will be large heat losses in the “prairie house” through the huge windows. Still, the project originated in the prairies of the North American continent, and for our cold regions it requires adaptation, first of all, insulation. And these are unnecessary expenses.
• Style welcomes complex structures made of heavy materials, hanging over cliffs and ponds, or simply balconies and verandas. It is difficult and sometimes unreliable to build them from brick or concrete, even with serious reinforcement.

Project of a Wright-style house made of wood concrete

A convenient and practical solution for a “prairie house” in the Russian climate is a house made of wood concrete blocks. It turns out to be light (this allows verandas and rooms to be supported on columns, and not on the load-bearing walls of the first floor) and warm (this slightly levels out heat loss through large windows).

For those who came to this site for the first time and have not yet been to the main page: wood concrete block is a durable building material based on pine chips and Portland cement. It has virtually no disadvantages, with the exception of hydrophobia (though no more than wood).

By the way, if such a house is built in the southern CIS countries, it will keep cool perfectly - here the thermal insulation properties of wood concrete also come to the fore.

Foundation

If geodetic data does not indicate that the conditions for construction will be extreme (for example, the groundwater level is too high, the soil is weak or swampy, there is a risk of seismic activity), the foundation for the house can be made shallow, strip or columnar.

An arbolite block, like wood, requires careful insulation from moisture. For this purpose they do:

• waterproofing between the foundation and the first row of masonry;
• blind area;
• vents (if the type of foundation allows);
• drainage (water drainage from under the building).

You can read more about the types of foundations and all the above measures in a special article on this topic. True, if Wright’s style philosophy is strictly followed, the house will stand on a hill and will not be exposed to excessive moisture.

Wall masonry

Laying wood concrete blocks is no different from laying any others: expanded clay, foam, aerated concrete: this is a regular spoon dressing. There are only a few nuances that are not difficult to observe.

• The masonry mortar (preferably with perlite, or better yet, adhesive for cellular concrete) is applied in a very thin layer, so that the finished seam is almost invisible. Once set, it will turn the blocks into a monolith.

By the way, it is for this reason that you don’t have to bother pouring monolithic wood concrete: it won’t be as strong (you can get acquainted with the rationale), and there are still no cold bridges in block concrete.

• As with any block masonry, mesh reinforcement is required every 3-5 rows.
• As the top row, you can lay an armored belt from a special block, rather than installing additional formwork to fill the cement belt: the reinforced block itself will serve as permanent formwork.

Finishing technologies

Modern technologies make it possible to accurately imitate wood or stone - so that you won’t immediately guess the origin of the finishing material. At the same time, they will be lighter and more convenient than natural ones.

The main idea of ​​the “Wright” style in architecture is maximum harmony with nature. Such buildings fit organically into the surrounding landscape, become a natural addition to the landscape and combine simplicity, comfort and functionality. This is an ideal option for suburban construction, and therefore Wright-style houses are becoming more and more popular every year.

A little history

The organic architecture style was created in the early 20th century by the innovative American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. He was opposed to complex and bulky structures and monotony of buildings, and therefore actively involved the natural landscape in his projects. The flat steppes of America inspired him to create squat houses, as if trying to merge with the horizon, and this direction became known as the prairie style.

During his life, Wright created more than a thousand projects, including not only residential buildings, but also churches, schools, museums, office buildings and skyscrapers. He used various styles and their elements, but the main emphasis, of course, was on organic architecture. Over time, the popularity of “prairie houses” grew noticeably, and the style began to be called after its creator.

Distinctive features

Wright-style mansions and cottages are very diverse, but they all have common characteristic features:

• horizontal orientation of buildings;
• angularity and squatness;
• visual division of the facade into many sections;
• open plan;
• finishing with natural materials in various combinations.

The houses look very laconic and cozy, no elaborate details, no complex elements, everything is simple and functional.

Architecture style

Initially, the layout of such houses was T-shaped or in the form of a cross: rectangular elements intersected at right angles, forming a non-standard, but very convenient and reliable structure. Modern projects are predominantly rectangular and L-shaped, which saves building space.

The houses are low, even if there are second and third floors, and the impression of earthiness is further enhanced by the horizontal orientation of the buildings. The angularity of the buildings is given by numerous rectangular projections - bay windows, multi-level extensions, square columns. There is no basement or high foundation, but the house itself is most often built on a hill. The roofs are 3- and 4-slope, with a slight slope, sometimes almost flat. A characteristic feature of the roof design is very wide overhangs, borrowed from oriental architecture.

Materials for construction and finishing

Brick, ceramic blocks, and natural stone are widely used for the construction of walls. For floors - wooden beams and concrete. But frame structures are not typical for Wright’s style, as are completely wooden houses. Eclecticism is welcomed in the decoration: a combination of concrete and glass with natural wood and roughly processed stone. There are many options for combining stone and smoothly plastered walls.

The most common option for exterior finishing is facing the facade with decorative brick or torn stone, divided into sections by horizontal strips of concrete. Concrete also frames the boundaries of protrusions, parapets and canopies, and sometimes windows. Wood is used for lining eaves overhangs, finishing terraces and extensions, and erecting partitions. The most popular roofing materials are natural and soft tiles, and less commonly, corrugated sheets.

Window

The windows in such houses are adjacent to the roof itself and can be located along the perimeter of the building as a continuous strip. As a rule, they have a square or rectangular shape, a small number of lintels, and no shutters. Window openings are always framed with concrete strips or thick boards. Expensive projects require panoramic windows on both sides of the main entrance.

Layout

The layout of houses necessarily includes the presence of a wide open terrace, and sometimes more than one. The interior spaces are also quite spacious despite the low ceilings, and the smooth transition from one room to another creates a sense of continuity of space. The doorways are wide and strictly rectangular in shape. Arched structures are uncharacteristic for this style.

Wright's houses: color palette
facades and interiors

Color spectrum

The color design of houses in the Wright style includes predominantly neutral and warm natural colors: beige, sand, all shades of gray and brown. White is used infrequently and is always combined with other shades. The roof should be darker than the walls, and the lining of the eaves should be light (usually white or beige). Design elements for corners and openings are matched to the color of the roof.

Kenneth Laurent House

Wright style façade decoration

Designing and constructing a Wright-style building yourself is very difficult if you do not have an architectural background. But with the help of properly selected finishing, you can transform standard housing and make it look like prairie houses. To make the facade appear squat, at the level of the window openings along the perimeter of the house, you need to install a wide cornice made of concrete or. The same cornice must be installed along the upper edge of the walls.

For cladding, wild stone tiles or torn bricks are suitable - this finish looks great, and it’s not difficult to do it yourself.

Preparatory stage

External walls should be properly prepared before finishing. Cladding requires a strong, reliable base with a flat surface, without vertical deviations. Having cleaned the walls of dirt and dust, carefully inspect them for defects: cracks, chips, fungal damage, peeling of the old coating. Anything that is loose or crumbles should be removed to a solid base, otherwise a high-quality finish will not work. The areas affected by the fungus also need to be cleaned with a scraper and then treated with any product containing chlorine.

Protrusions larger than 15 mm are knocked down using a chisel and hammer.

After this, a level or an even long strip is applied to the plane of the wall in several places to determine the degree of curvature of the surface. If there are many irregularities and differences in height are more than 15-20 mm, leveling with plaster should be carried out along the beacons.

Before leveling, the walls are primed and allowed to dry thoroughly.

For plastering, you can use ordinary cement-sand mortar or a commercial cement-based mixture. It is a little more expensive, but much better in quality: it does not shrink, has increased resistance to moisture, and dries quickly. The plaster mixture is applied in 2-3 layers, each of which, after drying, is rubbed and sanded. Finally, the walls are again coated with a primer.

Installation of facade cornices

When constructing prairie houses, the horizontal delimitation of the facade is made with concrete strips during the process of laying the walls. In our case, you can use wide facade cornices made of polyurethane or fiber-reinforced concrete, which look no worse. You can purchase them at any hardware store.

Advice. In order for the cornices to match the finishing style, you should choose products of a simple rectangular shape, with the least pronounced relief. The optimal height of the cornices is 140-150 mm.

To install polyurethane cornices you will need:

If fiber-reinforced concrete cornices are chosen for finishing, you will additionally need dowel-nails for fastening, as well as drills and a drill.

Step 1. Determine the height of the cornice on the facade. If the house is two-story, the cornice is attached between the floors and along the upper edge of the facade. In one-story houses, the demarcation line can run at the level of the lower or upper edge of the window opening, or in the center of the window. If the walls are high, you can install two curtain rods.

Step 2. At the selected height, a horizontal line is drawn along the perimeter of the house. Along the marking line, the walls are primed to the height of the cornice. It is advisable to take soil with quartz filler.

Step 3. Prepare the glue: pour the dry ingredients into a container with water and stir with a mixer until smooth.

Take a polyurethane cornice, cover the back side with glue and form grooves with a notched trowel. The wall is also covered with an even layer of mortar, after which the cornice is applied to the surface. Check the location with a level, press it to the base along the entire length of the product. Excess glue around the edges is carefully removed with a narrow spatula.

Step 4. Take the next element, coat the back side and the end of the cornice with glue, apply it to the wall, tightly joining it with the previous one. The remaining elements are fastened in the same way, constantly monitoring the horizontal. When finishing corner joints, the ends of two adjacent cornices are cut at an angle of 45 degrees.

Step 5. When the glue has dried, sand the surface of the cornice with fine sandpaper, sweep away the dust, and seal the seams with sealant. Finally, the finish is primed and painted white.

Fiber-reinforced concrete cornices are much heavier than polyurethane ones, so glue alone is not enough. In this case, on the back side of the product, in its upper part, carefully drill holes for fasteners, going deep to half the thickness of the cornice. The distance between the holes is 40-50 cm, the outer holes are located 10-15 mm from the ends. The same holes are drilled in the wall, precisely observing the specified distance.

Dowel-nails are inserted into the holes in the wall, then an adhesive solution is applied to the wall and to the cornice, and the product is applied to the surface so that the fasteners fit exactly into the holes. Having leveled the horizontal line, press the cornice against the wall and remove excess mortar with a spatula. Finishing is carried out in the manner described above.

Facade cladding

For cladding, artificial stone is ideal, which in appearance is practically no different from natural stone, but has less weight and is easier to install. You can choose two types of stone that differ in texture and color, then the cladding will look even more impressive.

During the work you will need:

Before starting work, experts recommend laying stones from 2-3 packages on the ground to see how the finish will look on the wall. This will help determine the optimal width of the seams between the elements and select the masonry pattern.

Advice. Before installation, you need to inspect the back side of the stones: if it is glossy or has traces of cement laitance, additional treatment with a wire brush is required.

Step 1.: pour the dry component into a container with water and stir with a mixer until smooth. Be sure to adhere to the proportions specified by the manufacturer, otherwise the quality of the masonry may decrease.

Step 2. The stones of the first row are laid face down and the back side is moistened with water. While the water is absorbed, the adhesive solution is applied with a spatula to the wall, starting from the bottom of the corner. The layer should be uniform and not too thick. A notched trowel is used to move over the applied layer, forming a relief.

Step 3. The solution is also applied to the back side of the stone and leveled with a spatula in a layer about 6 mm thick. Press it against the wall, level it and press it into the solution with zigzag movements. Additionally, you can trim the element with a rubber hammer.

Step 4. Fasten the next fragment, leaving a seam of the required width between the stones. If glue gets on the front surface, carefully wipe it off with a damp sponge.

During the installation process, it is necessary to check the horizontality of the row by applying a level to the upper edge of the stones. For ease of installation, special corner elements are attached to the corners.

Step 5. Having completed laying the first row, proceed to the second. To prevent the stones from slipping and ensure evenness of the seams, wooden wedges of appropriate thickness are inserted between the lower and upper stones. The vertical seams should not coincide, so you need to start a row not with a whole stone, but with a half. The material is easy to process, and cutting it with a grinder will not be difficult.

Step 6. All subsequent rows are laid in exactly the same way, observing the bandaging of the seams and controlling the horizontality of the cladding with a level. During the installation process, try to evenly alternate the stones in size and color, so the finish will look more aesthetically pleasing.

Step 7 After 3-5 days you can start processing the seams. To do this, mix the grouting solution, put it in a special bag and carefully squeeze the mixture into the joint cavity between the stones. Filling the joints should be done to the same depth, but not less than 5 mm from the base.

Step 8 About half an hour after application, when the grout begins to set, it is smoothed out using a jointer or a narrow spatula. Excess mixture is carefully removed from the lining with the same spatula or brush.

After the solution has completely dried, the cladding is treated with a water repellent. You can apply the composition with a brush, but it is more convenient to use a sprayer, especially if the façade area is large enough. Before treating the surface with a water repellent, you should carefully study the instructions for its use.

Unitarian Meeting House - architect Frank Lloyd Wright

Video - Wright-style houses

Video - Facade facing with stone

Video - Installation of facade cornice

Review of projects - advantages and features

In Moscow and the Moscow region, houses designed in the Wright style have become popular in recent decades, taking strong leadership positions in the luxury real estate category. Country cottages, born from "", inherited from them naturalness and earthiness. The ability to “merge” with the surrounding landscape and become an integral part of it.

1. Trendy organic architecture

Cottages built according to architectural designs in the Wright style, as a rule, are of the 1, 2 or 3 storey type with a clearly defined horizontal orientation. Open terraces, loggias and large multi-leaf windows help the cottages to integrate organically into the surrounding space, which unite the landscape and the country house into a single whole.

2. "Eastern" roofs

As a “legacy” from eastern temples, houses in the Wright style received roofs with low overhangs that reliably protect the interior from direct sunlight. The designs of many projects include - they can be used as an outdoor solarium or terrace for relaxation.

3. Respectable exterior

The decoration of the facades of houses in the Wright style is done in calm, predominantly natural tones - muted shades of gray, chocolate, sand. The elegant color scheme gives the exteriors and emphasizes their status.

Prairie style house - turnkey construction

Any of the projects of cottages in the Wright style can be implemented by the builders of the TopDom company. They have many years of experience in the field of private housing construction. And they are carried out in various regions of Russia.

“...Taking a human figure as a scale, I reduced the height of the entire house, making it correspond to the height of human growth; not believing in a scale other than the human, I, introducing it into the perception of spatiality, flattened the mass of the building. They said that if I were ten centimeters taller, my houses would have completely different proportions. May be."

F. L. Wright

“Prairie houses,” as Wright-style buildings are also called, are large rectangular rooms, natural materials and perfect harmony with nature.

Free Wright Plan

Architect and architectural theorist Frank Lloyd Wright once put forward the principle of an organic building - one that would logically continue the space surrounding it. This is how the concept of a free plan in construction appeared: a large number of smooth horizontal lines and squat buildings.

Maximum harmony with space.

Wright's own designs often featured cruciform or T-shaped house plans: two rectangular spaces intersecting at right angles to form a slightly eccentric but attractive and durable structure. Wright paid special attention to natural light, so houses designed by him (or according to the principles laid down by him) should be located on hills so that the maximum amount of light penetrates the premises. For the same purpose, huge, often full-height walls and windows are designed.

Open terraces, a small number of floors and a pronounced horizontal orientation help Wright's houses blend seamlessly into the surrounding nature.

Construction and finishing materials

As a building material, Wright widely used brick in his projects, which is still popular today. Nowadays, it makes sense to use ceramic blocks - they are larger in size, which reduces the cost of materials and increases the speed of construction.

Ceramic blocks have a porous structure, which makes them practically unable to conduct heat - which means that it will remain inside the house.

Naturally, the visible decoration in houses that claim harmony with nature should only be natural. These are, first of all, stone and wood. Now nothing prevents the owner of a Wright-style house from replacing these materials with their imitation - for example, using “stone” or regular “wood” siding. You can guess the origin of the finish only by touching it or looking at it very closely.

Of course, a characteristic feature of the appearance of Wright's houses is a large amount of glass. This is justified, because according to the architect’s plan, there should be a lot of natural light inside the building.

Interior of houses in the Wright style

Despite the abundance of squat objects and horizontal lines, the inside of such buildings is quite spacious. This is achieved through full use of space.

For example, in one of the houses that Frank Lloyd Wright personally designed, there is a wide and flat mezzanine along the entire perimeter of the room - and above and below it there are equally wide voids. In this way, architects optimally use all the resources of the room, without straying from the logic of “horizontality”.

The interior of the “house over the waterfall” - the most famous of those designed by Wright himself

Wright himself loved to design not only buildings, but even pieces of furniture, being convinced that every item in the house should be thought out as much as possible. The entire furnishings should be in harmony with the space and even slightly “get lost” against the background of the walls.

The same angularity and segmentation that we see outside is also found in the interior. Designers are inspired to use them by oriental temples - Wright himself never hid the fact that some style ideas have precisely this origin. Such forms can be seen in furniture, lamps, and door frames.

Stonework or its imitation can also be seen inside buildings - for the most part this is decoration on one or two walls in the living room or kitchen.

Style colors

Houses designed by Wright (and therefore his followers) are made for the most part in neutral, calm colors, often duplicating the shades of the surrounding nature. These are gray, brown, beige, sand colors; wood and natural stone themselves suggest what color schemes should be used.

Almost the same can be said about the interior of the room - perhaps the shades there will be a little brighter, but, in general, they echo the natural ones.

Frank Lloyd Wright is one of those architects who managed to leave a bold mark on the history of world architecture. Building his work on the principles of organic architecture (integrity with nature), Frank created his own Prairie style, which after his death was named after him. Wright's house designs, which Frank began designing at the end of the last century in the USA, have become widespread and popular to this day throughout the world.

All Wright style house designs, naturally designed by the hand of the master himself, are the absence of much contrast between the object and the natural landscape. This is what lies at the core of organic architecture. A house should not look like a foreign object; it can be a house, but one that fits harmoniously into its surroundings.

Projects of houses and cottages from the iDomPK catalog contain both stylization in Wright's style and large cottages made while maintaining all the laws of this style. Each of our projects contains photos, layouts that can be redesigned according to your wishes, and ready-made working documentation for turnkey construction, consisting of architectural and structural sections.

Details and style features

Well, let's take a closer look at what makes Wright's house designs so good? What sets them apart from standard architectural solutions?

The first thing that catches your eye is its stockiness. Inspired by the steppe plains of the USA, Frank created a unique style of houses that strive to merge with the horizon. It was thanks to the squatness of his work that they were called the Prairie style (North American type of steppes). Also, he believed that the proportions of buildings should be determined by the human figure; it is thanks to this belief that projects of country cottages in the Wright style do not contain high ceilings and huge halls.

The second floor is always completed. The roof, as a rule, has 3 or 4 slopes. Sometimes it seems that the roof of such houses is flat. This effect is achieved due to the low ridge and very wide roof overhangs. Windows, of course, can be of any shape, but often they are elongated and/or square. The windows rest directly on the roof overhang itself. As a rule, there is no base, but if there is one, it means the house is on a slope and such a base is finished with natural stone.

The external shape of the house contains a large number of projections and there must be awnings. The columns are always brick. The roofing material should be darker than the facade. Suitable materials include soft roofing and iron (metal or seam tiles).

A distinctive feature of Wright-style house projects is a free plan - this is when the number of internal walls and partitions is reduced to a minimum. Frank did not like partitions and doors; he preferred a single space, moving through which you find yourself from one atmosphere to another.

Wright-style house designs are finished with only natural materials on the outside, but this is, of course, ideal. Nowadays, the facade can be finished with any materials, but in order to convey the spirit of that time and enhance the style, we recommend using 2-3 materials - facing brick (sometimes clinker tiles are suitable), artificial stone and wood. Decorative elements require their presence only at the discretion of the architect and/or common sense.

Designing houses and cottages in the Wright style

Designing Wright cottages is a very serious job that can take from 2 to 3 months. It is for this reason that there are not many such cottage projects in our catalog. If you have chosen the option you like from our catalog, we are ready to modify it to suit your functional and aesthetic needs. If our assortment seems scarce to you, then you can order an individual house project. We are ready to cope with the task! Over 17 years, we have gained vast experience and formed an excellent team of qualified specialists - architects, designers, engineers.