USONIA: SHELTER in the OPEN
1936 - 1947
Concept
Wright's last "style", Usonian, was caused by a shift in society in the 1930's. Adapting architecture to the simple and economically tight lives of families in the 1930's, Wright used down scaling to bring the house to a more appropriate human level and reflect the informal and comfortable lives of the average American family. Wright taught principles and philosophies of architecture, not a style. Many apprentices came out of a large, caring, and often chaotic community to complete successful career's in the world of architecture. During the thirties, Wright formed a social vision, associating the evils of society with the modern city. This was expressed through his design of Broadacre City, a section of an idealistic decentralized and restructured nation resembling something in between a city and an agricultural community.
Wright's outlined philosophy on the Usonian home: "Living within a house wherein everything is genuine and harmoniuous, an new sense of life... The Usonian house, then aims to be a natural performance, on that is integral to site; integral to environment; integral to the life of the inhabitants." The origin of the name "Usonia" is unknown. It is certainly a play on "USA". Wright used it as a substitute for "America", not the nation he saw around him but that future new united America of Broadacre City.
After 1935, Wright's public structures and residences were designed with the concept of decentralization, self-sufficiency, and reverence for the land. His Usonian idea of an American house should have a sense of unity, space and proportion, and earth.
Plan
Wright's new architecture was popular because it addressed the real needs of large numbers of people without the eccentric and exotic overtones of the previous decade. During the early part of the twentieth century, the prairie house was centrally designed for the well-to-do members of the upper middle class. In contrast, during the Great Depression, his Usonian clients were not so economically secure. Wright had to warch budgets closely. His dilemma was to design low-cost homes for middle-income families. The first Usonian house built was Herbert Jacobs House (1936) in Madison, Wisconsin. The Jacobs residence included several technological innovations that were both economical and humanly satisfying.
The entire plan was governed by a two-by-four foot grid allowing the contractor to easliy locate doors and windows. This also reduces labor and waste since materials like plywood came in four-foot cuts. Most items on the plan were centered on or related to the grid, so that the drawings could be rationalized and executed with minimal misunderstanding.
Wright eliminated the dining room in the Jacobs' home, instead connecting the kitchen and living areas with a table. They were further separated by the large fireplace. He used this method to merge the three rooms into one, but with a sense of functionaly diversity. This was a common feature is Wright's Usonian homes.
The open Usonian plan was similar to Wright's prior style of residential design (Prairie), but even more open. This style accentuated its close relation to nature more strongly by increasing windows to facilitate real and visual contact with the outdoors. Furniture and accessories were often built in, along with flower boxes that replace the earlier concrete urn.
Usonian homes were lower and longer than prairie houses. Their flat roofs and overhangs did not need vigorous contrasting trim to indicate its closeness to the land. Though the Jacobs' residence was quite a success, Wright soon began to adapt Usonian homes to a hexagonal module. He asserted that the hexagon was more natural to human movement, allowing greater spacial freedom that a square.
Materials
Usonian houses were generally built of board and batten with brick sometimes replaced with stone. They were never cemented-walled like several of their predecessors. These houses were more often on the outskirts of town, on the edge of small cities, or on large, wooded lots, taking advantage or irregular sites (hillside, lake shores, and ravines).