FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT

Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, interior designer, writer, and
educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures, 532 of which were completed. Wright believed in designing
structures that were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture.
This philosophy was best exemplified by Fallingwater (1935), which has been called "the best all-time work of
American architecture".

Community planning

His thoughts on suburban design started in 1900 with a proposed subdivision layout for Charles E. Roberts
entitled the "Quadruple Block Plan." This design strayed from traditional suburban lot layouts and set houses
on small square blocks of four equal-sized lots surrounded on all sides by roads instead of straight rows of
houses on parallel streets. The houses, which used the same design as published in "A Home in a Prairie Town"
from the Ladies' Home Journal, were set toward the center of the block to maximize the yard space and included
private space in the center. This also allowed for far more interesting views from each house. Although this plan
was never realized, Wright published the design in the Wasmuth Portfolio in 1910.

The more ambitious designs of entire communities were exemplified by his entry into the City Club of Chicago
Land Development Competition in 1913. The contest was for the development of a suburban quarter section.
This design expanded on the Quadruple Block Plan and included several social levels. The design shows the
placement of the upscale homes in the most desirable areas and the blue collar homes and apartments separated
by parks and common spaces. The design also included all the amenities of a small city: schools, museums,
markets, etc. This view of decentralization was later reinforced by theoretical Broadacre City design. The
philosophy behind his community planning was decentralization. The new development must be away from the
cities. In this decentralized America, all services and facilities could coexist "factories side by side with farm
and home."

Notable community planning designs:

1900–03 – Quadruple Block Plan, 24 homes in Oak Park, Illinois (unbuilt)

1909 – Como Orchard Summer Colony, town site development for new town in the Bitterroot Valley, Montana
1913 – Chicago Land Development competition, suburban Chicago quarter section
1934–59 – Broadacre City, theoretical decentralized city plan, exhibits of large-scale model
1938 – Suntop Homes, also known as Cloverleaf Quadruple Housing Project – commission from Federal Works
Agency, Division of Defense Housing, a low-cost multifamily housing alternative to suburban development
1942 – Cooperative Homesteads, commissioned by a group of auto workers, teachers and other professionals,
160-acre farm co-op was to be the pioneer of rammed earth and earth berm construction[77] (unbuilt)
1945 – Usonia Homes, 47 homes (three designed by Wright) in Pleasantville, New York
1949 – The Acres, also known as Galesburg Country Homes, five homes (four designed by Wright) in
Charleston Township, Michigan
1949 – Parkwyn neighborhood, a plat in Kalamazoo, Michigan, developed by Wright containing mostly
Usonian homes on circular lots with common spaces in between (since replatted)

Le Corbusier

 Charles-Édouard Jeanneret-Gris, aka Le Corbusier (October 6, 1887 – August 27, 1965), was a French
architect, designer, urbanist, writer and also painter.
 He was one of the pioneers of what now is called Modern architecture or the International Style.
 He was dedicated in providing better living conditions for the residents of crowded cities.
 Le Corbusier stated that many cities around the world were on the blink of an urban implosion.
 The main reasons being poor design, inadequate and inefficient transportation.
 He studied these problems and advised bold new solutions.
 His theories helped shape planning of many cities around the world.
 Ideologies

The works of Le Corbusier is based on some very strong points which can be clearly seen from the buildings.

FIVE POINTS: these are the elements which deal with the skeletal frame, the open plan, the roof terrace,
the band of windows and the asymmetrical composition of facades.
TRUE GEOMETRY: the planning were based on true geometry that is pure form of cubes, spheres,
pyramids etc.
BOLD FACADE: excessive use of concrete on facades with bold notification and grid work for windows
were the must in any building.

Philosophies

 Corbusier advocated the concept that a great modern city can only function on the basis of a strict
order.
 Le Corbusier presented two imposing planning schemes.
 In 1922 he outlined the plan for a contemporary city of three million inhabitants which was based on
four principles:
• Decongestion of the centers of cities.
• Augmentation of the density.
• Enlargement of the means of circulation.
• Increase in the number of parks and open spaces.
 It was followed by the Vision plan for the center of Paris.
 In 1929 in his book “the city of tomorrow and its planning he offered a stimulating vision to solve
complex problems of modern urban life.
 These plans were tentative in conceptual design and did not take into account the modifications
necessary for implementations.
 His plans for the cities were the results of detailed analysis of three major urban factors –
• Roads
• Housing
• Open spaces

Chandigarh – biological concept

 Corbusier considered towns as a biological phenomenon.

 According to him they have a brain, heart, lungs, limbs and arteries like human beings.
 In Chandigarh, he used the same phenomena for his basic plan.
 The capital complex was placed at the top of the town because he likened it to be intellect of man,
which emanates from the brain or the head.
 The industrial and the educational; belts on the either side of the city symbolize the limbs.
 The city center with commercial buildings, shops and offices represents the heart.
 The spacious parks and green belts which run through the city provide the lungs.
 The network of roads for vehicular traffic and footpaths for pedestrian constitutes the circulatory
system.

FREDERICK LAW OLMSTED

Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822 – August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist,
social critic, and public administrator. He is popularly considered to be the father of American landscape
architecture. Olmsted was famous for co-designing many well-known urban parks with his senior partner
Calvert Vaux, including Central Park in New York City and Cadwalader Park in Trenton.
Olmsted's principles of design

Olmsted's principles of design, generally speaking, encourage the full utilization of the naturally occurring
features of a given space, its "genius"; the subordination of individual details to the whole so that decorative
elements do not take precedence, but rather the whole space; concealment of design, design that does not call
attention to itself; design which works on the unconscious to produce relaxation; and utility or purpose over
ornamentation. A bridge, a pathway, a tree, a pasture: any and all elements are brought together to produce a
particular effect.

Olmsted designed primarily in the pastoral and picturesque styles, each to achieve a particular effect. The
pastoral style featured vast expanses of green with small lakes, trees and groves and produced a soothing,
restorative effect on the viewer. The picturesque style covered rocky, broken terrain with teeming shrubs and
creepers and struck the viewer with a sense of nature's richness. The picturesque style played with light and
shade to lend the landscape a sense of mystery.

Scenery was designed to enhance the sense of space: indistinct boundaries using plants, brush and trees as
opposed to sharp ones; interplay of light and shadow close up and blurred detail further away. A vast expanse
of greenery at the end of which lies a grove of yellow poplar; a path that winds through a bit of landscape and
intersects with others, dividing the terrain into triangular islands of successive new views.

Subordination strives to use all objects and features in the service of the design and its intended effect. It can be
seen in the subtle use of naturally occurring plants throughout the park. Non-native species planted for the sake
of their own uniqueness defeat the purpose of design, as that very uniqueness draws attention to itself where the
intention is to enable relaxation: utility above all else. Separation applies to areas designed in different styles
and different uses enhancing safety and reducing distraction. A key feature of Central Park is the use of sunken
roadways which traverse the park and are specifically dedicated to vehicles as opposed to winding paths
designated specifically for pedestrians.

DANIEL BURNHAM

Daniel Hudson Burnham, FAIA (September 4, 1846 – June 1, 1912) was an American architect and urban
designer. He was the Director of Works for the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago.
Burnham took a leading role in the creation of master plans for the development of a number of cities, including
Chicago, Manila, Baguio and downtown Washington, D.C. He also designed several famous buildings,
including the Flatiron Building of triangular shape in New York City, Union Station in Washington D.C., the
Continental Trust Company Building tower skyscraper in Baltimore (now One South Calvert Building), and a
number of notable skyscrapers in Chicago

Much of his work was based on the classical style of Greece and Rome. In his 1924 autobiography, Louis
Sullivan, one of the leading architects from the Chicago School but one who had enjoyed difficult relations with
Burnham over an extended period of time, criticised Burnham for what Sullivan viewed as his lack of original
expression and dependence on Classicism. Sullivan went on to claim that "the damage wrought by the World's
Fair will last for half a century from its date, if not longer"—a sentiment edged with bitterness, as corporate
America of the early 20th century had demonstrated a strong preference for Burnham's architectural style over
Sullivan's.

Burnham is famously quoted as saying, "Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men's blood and
probably will not themselves be realized." This slogan has been taken to capture the essence of Burnham's spirit.
A man of influence, Burnham was considered the preeminent architect in America at the start of the 20th
century. He held many positions during his lifetime, including the presidency of the American Institute of
Architects. Other notable architects began their careers under his aegis, such as Joseph W. McCarthy. Several
of his descendants have worked as influential architects and planners in the United States, including his
grandchildren Burnham Kelly and Margaret Burnham Geddes.