BREATHLESS: THE AIRTIGHT ENVELOPE The airtight envelope emerged in the early 20th century as a

One of the innovations was the construction of skyscrapers. Before steel was used, a skyscraper was only considered four to five stories tall and was made out of stone. Very little light was able to get into the building because the structure would become unsafe if too many windows were put in. This made the building very dark, cold and damp. In 1885, with the innovation of steel, the first skyscraper, The Home Insurance Building, was built in Chicago, Illinois. This building paved the way for architects around the country to build taller and stronger skyscrapers into today’s times.

With the advent of automobiles, post the second World War, the design of cities started focusing more on the use cars. Architects conformed to the municipal zoning ordinances

Without a doubt, Frank Lloyd Wright was one of the greatest architects in American history and the greatest architect of the 20th century. Nature was his muse and his architectural structures embodied organic qualities. He took full advantage of the technological advances of the 20th century but redirecting the concept of space and employing new techniques; Wright was known for his modern and innovative designs. He believed that, “architecture was not just about buildings, it was about nourishing the lives of those sheltered within them”. Wright is not only one of the most well known architects in America but he is also thought of as one of the most influential architects in the world.

Frank Wright (1867-1959), is an American architect born on June 8th in Richland Center, Wisconsin (Biography.com n.d.). A modern design, he produced an organic and clear American style (Architectural Digest n.d.). Wright founded his own firm and developed the Prairie School- single-story homes with low, slanted roofs and extended rows on the windowpane, using the available materials from local business and clean and not painted wood (The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica 2017). The Robie House (Figure 1) located in Chicago and Unity Temple placed in Oak Park (Biography.com n.d.). Wright was known mainly in Europe but not in the United States. In 1913, Wright designed his home on his maternal ancestors land in Spring Green, Wisconsin (Architectural Digest n.d.). This home was named Taliesin, sadly it got burnt down twice and he still remodeled it again (The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica 2017). Wright wrote two books in 1932: “An Autobiography” and “The Disappearing City,” both are known as architectural literature (Biography.com n.d.). In addition, to publishing the two books, he

When designing and building structures, the social and political pressures influence the way they appear.

More buildings were built with different shapes inspired by Louis Sullivan and Frank

The crude masks protection came from the mask being dipped into gas resistant chemicals, the gas resistant chemicals were sodium hyposulphite, washing soda, glycerine and water. Though the mask was basic, it acted as sign to British troops that something was being done to prevent mass fatalities by poison gas. In 1916 the innovation of the small box respirator was introduced with an improved design. Numerous other innovations occurred for the good and the bad including sanitary napkins, aircraft communications and tanks.

Frank Lloyd Wright was one of the most influential designers of modern architecture and design. He was born June 8, 1867, in Richland Center, Wisconsin. He studied at the University of Wisconsin in the field of engineering because courses in architecture were not available at the school. In 1887, Wright moved to Chicago were he became a draftsman for Joseph Lyman Silsbee, who was a famous Mid-western architect. While working for Silsbee, Wright designed his first building. Later in that same year, Wright became a designer at the firm of Alder and Sullivan. Wright soon became their chief draftsman. Louis Sullivan, one of the partners at the firm, had a profound influence upon Wright’s work. Wright was forced to leave the firm of Alder and Sullivan because of his "bootleg" homes. People were at first opposed to his new and different approach to architecture and design. In 1893, he began his own practice. Wright soon began to design and build houses of his own that reflected Louis Sullivan’s influence. Wright’s designs also revealed his independent talent and nature.

When thinking of buildings that were ahead of their time two come to mind the Chrysler Building and the Seagram Building. Both of these structures were built to withstand the elements of time and are still beautiful to this day. These buildings have been featured on the cover of magazines, tv shows and are modern marvels in today's society. Between the two buildings, one can not help but look at the similarities as well as the differences between the two. Today I want to discuss these differences as well as the similarities and go into greater detail on why these buildings are significant.

Frank Lloyd Wright was born in the year 1867, in Richland Center, Wisconsin. Both an architect and writer, he is considered a genius of the American architecture (Kaufmann 1). Wright went to the University of Wisconsin at Madison for a few terms where he took engineering courses (Kaufmann 3). He finally left Madison after a few years and found work with J.L. Silsbee, in architectural detailing. After a few years he opened his own architectural practice. One of his styles that became the residential design of the 20th century in the United States was the Prairie Style. The Prairie architecture was known for its revolutionary approach to the building of modern homes. Wright built about 50 prairie houses in ten years. Two of his major works that stand out is the Guggenheim Museum located in New York and the Marin County government Centre located near San Francisco.

One of Frank Lloyd Wright’s first periods was his work with Louis Sullivan, from whom he learn a lot as his draftsman and apprentice. He worked under Sullivan supervision until 1893, when he opened his own office in Oak Park. What is interesting is that Wright was

In 1887, Wright worked with Louis Sullivan in Chicago, a well-known architect of the time who also wanted to separate from European style, until 1893. After Wright had stopped working with Sullivan’s firm, he made what is considered his first masterpiece, his home in Oak Park, Illinois known as the Frank Lloyd Wright home and studio. This structure was also his first work designed with his “Prairie” style. This style involved single-story homes with many horizontal lines, spacious living areas, and many casement windows. They were built with nearby materials and the wood used was not painted, expressing natural beauty. Wright later designed many more of his works in this styles, such as the Robie House and Unity Temple. In later years, he designed more well-known buildings, such as Taliesin, his home in Wisconsin, and Fallingwater, a building built on a waterfall in Pennsylvania. Later, he built public buildings, for instance, the Monona Terrace Civic Center, the SC Johnson Wax Administration, and the Guggenheim Museum. Wright also designed Tokyo’s Imperial Hotel in 1915, which he stated was “earthquake-proof” and, later, ended up being the only building involved in the 1923 Japanese earthquake to remain unscathed. Wright had also designed Usonian houses, which were the predecessors of today’s ranch-style homes. These homes had natural heating and cooling, and included carports, which were invented by Wright. All in all, Wright designed more than 1,100 structures. Frank Lloyd Wright died on April 9th, 1959, at age 91.

Today technology allows us to construct structures that we would never have been able to make in the past. Some of the creations are impressive based on what they accomplish but others are masterpieces in themselves. Man’s capability to build such tall buildings, as the skyscrapers we are familiar with covering our cities today, is a major expression of the advancements we have made as a culture. The power necessary to build such tall structures inspired competition between architects to see who could build the tallest one. One skyscraper that has inspired many and served as a model, for high rise buildings that were created after, is the Chrysler Building. The Chrysler Building serves as an identifying mark to anyone that

The prominent and imaginative Wisconsin born American architect, interior designer and author, Frank Lloyd Wright hit his architectural milestone in the mid-1930s when he designed his world-renowned master piece in Bear Run, Western Pennsylvania, “Fallingwater” also referred to as Kaufmann Residence. Owing to his unique perspective in architecture which he refers to as “organic”, the structure looks as though it sprung naturally amidst Bear Run's trees and water. Frank Lloyd Wright’s complete body of work was so broad that till date he still remains highly recognized as the greatest architect of all time. His career which lasted for approximately seventy two years was apostrophized with global fame, artistic conquests as

Wright’s stubbornness often scared away clients that wanted classical Greek style houses, but Frank usually won clients over with his sincerity. Frank got a contract to build a factory building in Buffalo, New York. Frank wanted to build around the function of the building. He even added a set of open air stair cases that would allow air intake for the ventilation systems as well as a way of communicating. Frank went to Buffalo for the interview and persuaded the owner to give extra money for the stair cases. He got the job and hired a builder that he had worked with at Adler and Sullivans. Frank also made the building fireproof by making the furniture steel and magnesite.