Usonia

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In the Rosenbaum House

Usonia is a term coined by the American architect Frank Lloyd Wright with regard to his vision for the landscape of the USA , its urban planning and architecture.

use

Usonia was Wright's personal synonym for America. That's what he calls his visionary America. It consists of a conceived by him new urban form: Broadacre City ( width City ). Only here do people enjoy “ true individuality ” (and not “ robust individuality ” = egoism ) in a real holistic democracy. The values ​​of the Declaration of Independence are characteristic of this vision . Since all potential leaders (politicians, philosophers, artists ...) would have failed, Usonia is led by an architect. The government only performs administrative tasks. Usonia is radically federal, turned against any centralizing concentration of power.

The real center (the only allowable centralization) in Uson democracy is the individual in his truly Uson family home.

The term Usonia also refers to around 50 middle-class houses that Frank Lloyd Wright had built together with the Jacobs House company from 1936 onwards.

Skylights in Kentuck Knob

These houses were usually small, one-story houses with no garages or large storage space that Wright built after the Great Depression ended. In this context he also coined the word carport . The Herbert and Katherine Jacobs First House in Madison , Wisconsin (1937) is considered the first Usonian . Wright then designed Usonians until the end of his life.

Many Usonia houses were L-shaped that surrounded a garden terrace on two sides. Others had an I-floor plan. With respect for the environment, they had overhanging roofs for solar heating and natural cooling.

The Theodore Baird Residence in Amherst, Massachusetts , built between 1938 and 1940 for Theodore Baird, an English professor at Amherst College, is outwardly characterized by a brick facade and flat roof; Inside, the heating system is noteworthy, with hot water pipes transporting heat through a concrete floor.

Usonia houses (selection)

  • Willey House

  • IN Hagan House

  • Frieda and Henry J. Neils House

  • Thomas Keys House

  • Pope-Leighey House

  • Sturges House

literature

  • Roland Reisley, John Timpane: Usonia, New York: Building a Community with Frank Lloyd Wright . Princeton: Architectural Press, 2001. ISBN 1-568982453
  • Priscilla Henken, David Henken: Realizations of Usonia: Frank Lloyd Wright in Westchester . Hudson River Museum, 1985. ISBN 0943651123

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from August 18, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.stockwerk.org

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