Partner Emma and I are in need of a home. We despise 99% of new homes as being ugly boxes outside, and uglier boxes inside; houses built with precisely zero thought for how people live and enjoy a home.
The remaining 1 percent are in excess of a million dollars, and while we can afford that kind of mortgage, we don't want to owe that much money.
Knowing almost nothing about Frank Lloyd Wright, apart from very much enjoying his Guggenheim art gallery when I was in the US, I rented a DVD about him and his works. WOW.
We've found the house design we like: it's the very first "Usonian" home of Herbert and Katherine Jacobs, built in Madison, Wisconsin in 1937!
Check the house out here: http://www.usonia1.com
Anyway, even today it's an amazing place, and you can even rent it out for $1500 a month! That's so cheap Emma and I are contemplating going over just to stay there for a week or two.
Anyway, I've taken the original floor plan, added a single car garage, increased the size of the lounge, and added an ensuite bathroom to the Master Bedroom.
This week I'll be visiting a Quantity Surveyor to get an estimate for the specification of the house as we have it so far.
Obviously, it's impossible to build a replica of the house today: the building code won't allow much of the construction technique.
We've hired the best architect in Christchurch to make sure we don't mess up the house with our modifications.
Wish us luck - we're going to need it!
Building an FLW in 2005
If you're coming over here to check out that house, you may want to make a detour over to Oak Park, IL, where Wright opened his first architectural firm. There are many FLW homes and commercial buildings there. To build a brand new home based on a FLW design has been a dream of mine forever. Hope you can bring yours to life.
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[]V[]essenjah
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