Spaces are intended to be functional, flowing, and open.
The excesses of Victorian architecture are frowned upon.
Prairie-style homes are simpler than Victorian houses from the same era.
David Rius & Núria Tuca / Getty Images
The movement came after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.
The devastation opened up several new building opportunities for young architects.
Although this is a short-lived building style, its influence can be seen throughout Modern architecture.
Long room, walls of windows at the Robie HouseRobie House, Smart Destinations on flickr.com, Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0)
In doing so, he and his colleagues incorporated several key characteristics into their work.
Interesting Facts
Prairie Style was the beginning of modern architecture.
The Prairie Style was one of the first styles of architecture to incorporate modern ideas that form follows function.
The 1935 Fallingwater House Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in Mill Run, PennsylvaniaFallingwater House Photo by Walter Bibikow/AWL Images/Getty Images (cropped)
This style also implements common modern elements like large, flat planes.
However, there are distinct differences between a prairie home and other homes from the modernist movement.
The Prairie style was inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement.
Frank Llyod Wright drew a lot of inspiration fromthe Arts and Crafts Movement.
This inspiration led him to incorporate refined craftsmanship into his designs.
There are still some residential Prairie-style homes.
Many prairie style homes have been restored and turned into museums, particularly the ones built by Wright.
However, there still are a handful of homes that are privately owned.
The most extensive grouping of Prairie Style homes in the country is in Oak Park, Illinois.
The style was meant to be a new and innovative way to design structures for the American Midwest.
Examples of Prairie-Style Architecture
TheRobie Housein Chicago is a famous example of this architecture.
It was designed by Wright in 1909 and is considered exemplary of this style.
It has a low-pitched roof, large fireplace, and is two stories high.
TheFallingwater house, located in Mill Run, Pennsylvania, is an iconic example of the Prairie style.
It showcases a perfect balance between natural materials and the surrounding landscape, resulting in a harmonious blend.
Frank Lloyd Wright pioneered this domestic architectural style, drawing inspiration from the vast landscape of the Midwest.
Although Prairie homes share common features with Craftsman homes there are some key differences.
The Prairie style’spopularitydeclined in the United States after 1915.
Nevertheless, its influence is apparent in many styles of architecture, from Modernist to Midcentury Modern ranches.
