Overview

"Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959) developed the ""Usonian"" home as low-cost housing for newlyweds (as Stanley and Mildred Rosenbaum were in 1939, when construction began on their house) and others without a lot of money to spend. Far ahead of its time, the versatile design formed the basis for some of Wright's best residences. The Rosenbaums' sixty-year occupancy of their Usonian suggests a certain strength of character. Wright's designs sometimes preceded the technology necessary to keep them functioning. This house's heating system failed, incurably and almost immediately. The roof developed Niagara-like leaks. The cantilevered carport became frighteningly flexible. Another cantilever had to be supported by planks. The Rosenbaums loved the place anyway, and when their growing family called for its expansion and major remodelling, it was to Wright that they turned. In 1999, the city of Florence, Alabama, purchased the house even though city inspectors thought it beyond saving. The inspectors were wrong. Now restored, the beautiful Rosenbaum House is a museum. This book tells the story of the building's design, construction - which, like so many of Wright's commissions, involved high drama punctuated by humour - remodelling, and restoration. Written with lucid wit and plentifully illustrated with photographs and drawings, it is insightful and entertaining in equal measure."

Full Product Details

9780764937637

Table of Contents

Reviews

Author Information

Barbara Kimberlin Broach is the director of the Kennedy Douglass Centre for the Arts in Florence, Alabama, and manger of the city's museum system, which includes the Rosenbaum house. Donald E. Lambert, AIA, is a principal in the Florence architectural firm Lambert Ezell Durham. Broach and Lambert directed the restoration of the Rosenbaum house. Freelance writer Milton Bagby also works as a draftsman for a major architectural firm in Nashville.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available