
Did Frank Lloyd Wright create America's greatest office? - Yhippa
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13576_3-57595625-315/did-frank-lloyd-wright-create-americas-greatest-office/
======
abduhl
_That 's especially true because their design seems upside down. While they're
18 feet in diameter at the ceiling, they are just nine inches across at the
floor. How something like that could hold 60 tons is a small bit of Frank
Lloyd Wright magic. But that's exactly what they do._

This sentence irked me. How something that is 9" across can hold 60 tons is
not magic, it is pretty straight forward engineering. Doing the code required
design calculation for this column gives a nominal capacity for this column of
around 100 tons. Buckling of this column would most likely not be a an issue
due to the generous taper of the column if one were to actually do the math.

This is not magic. This is basic engineering.

~~~
tzs
> Doing the code required design calculation for this column gives a nominal
> capacity for this column of around 100 tons

You say "this column". Do you mean a single column of that design should hold
around 100 tons, or do you mean that the complete set of columns should hold
around 100 tons?

~~~
willyt
He's saying just one of those columns will support 100 tons. The self weight
is probably something like 20 tons. 100 tons is not a very big load in
construction terms.

~~~
tzs
The test column was showing cracks at 60 tons. Can you really go 40 tons past
that?

~~~
Retric
With modern material sure back then 60 tons may have been the limit depening
on how they added the material.

PS: Accidentally down voted you sorry. (Damm iPad)

------
jerrya
Remarkable that 70 years of managers were able to resist their obligation to
rip that crap out and put in cubicles.

    
    
      Manager - SC Johnson
      Oversaw renovation of 70 year old building. Placed 1000
      employees in building that previously housed 200. Saved
      $50,000,000 construction of new building.

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keithpeter
_"...imagine the columns -- as many do -- as lily pads, or even as a forest of
trees."_

I'm thinking of Christ Church hall [1] and also the cloisters of Gloucester
Cathedral [2]. I always feel calm in a wood (we don't really have any forests
left in the UK).

That office looks lovely with those desks as well, you can just see that
lovely wood and the brass fittings. And diffuse overhead daylight. Magic.

[1]
[http://www.darknessandlight.co.uk/photographs/christ_church_...](http://www.darknessandlight.co.uk/photographs/christ_church_hall_oxford_3021.html)

[2]
[http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gloucester_cathedral_...](http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gloucester_cathedral_cloister_001.JPG)

~~~
hkmurakami
you just made me miss all the great architecture that I had the privilege of
being around when I was in grad school (was at the "other" school for a year).

Gloucester Cathedral reminds me of the Fungus Forests from the Nausicca
animated film:
[https://encrypted.google.com/search?tbm=isch&q=nausicca%20fo...](https://encrypted.google.com/search?tbm=isch&q=nausicca%20forest&tbs=imgo:1&biw=2560&bih=1364&sei=m9_yUd7VKeOyiQLb04DQAQ)

------
abalone
My dad worked in the Great Workroom. Made a huge impression on me as a kid.

I truly believe that investing in great architecture inspires the mind and
invites you to give your very best. You rise to the environment you're
situated in.

~~~
rglover
This rings true on so many levels.

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chiph
I've seen the photo of the columns before, but never the hallway with the arch
of tubes above. And that elevator! A steampunk delight!

~~~
mkmk
Thanks for this comment-- I missed the photo gallery the first time around.
Here's a direct link:
[http://news.cnet.com/2300-13576_3-10017669-1.html](http://news.cnet.com/2300-13576_3-10017669-1.html)

------
fendmark
Frank Lloyd Wright is definitely a fascinating figure. I live in Oak Park, IL
just a few blocks away from his home and studio; highly recommend checking it
out if you are ever in Chicago.

~~~
Yhippa
OP here. I went to Wright Plus
([http://gowright.org/wp2013](http://gowright.org/wp2013)) this year. It was
real interesting to walk around your neighborhood and seeing all of the houses
there.

Whenever I travel around the US (sometimes the world) I feel that a lot of the
construction of houses are the same. It was refreshing to see the way a lot of
those houses were designed regardless if they were designed by FLW or not. I'm
hoping the next house I live in can share that ethos.

------
tzs
Here [1] is a newspaper story from the June 4th, 1937 Milwaukee Journal about
the test to demonstrate the strength of the columns to building regulators.

Here's the explanation given for why the columns were stronger than the
regulators expected:

    
    
       Secret of weight carrying ability of the new pillar,
       according to Wright, lies in its departure from the
       conventional way of building concrete pillars.
       Instead of using steel rods to reinforce the concrete,
       the architect has perfected a steel mesh core.
    
       “Iron rods in concrete represent the bones of a human
       foot. The steel mesh, however, plays the role of
       muscles and sinews. Muscles and sinews are stronger
       than bones. The concrete flows in unison with the
       steel mesh. It ’marries’ the mesh, so to speak,”
       Wright explained.
    

[1]
[http://www.pbs.org/flw/buildings/scjohnson/scjohnson_interio...](http://www.pbs.org/flw/buildings/scjohnson/scjohnson_interior.html)

~~~
MartinCron
Just in case you're now _really into_ the history and sicence of reinforced
concrete, there was an excellent 99% invisible podcast episode about it
recently:

[http://99percentinvisible.org/post/52361601736/episode-81-re...](http://99percentinvisible.org/post/52361601736/episode-81-rebar-
and-the-alvord-lake-bridge)

------
adventured
That building is tremendous. I'm fortunate enough to live moderately close to
Falling Water and go to see it frequently. I haven't had the pleasure of
visiting any of Wright's other architecture, but would love to. I've always
found him to be an inspirational figure that cuts across fields. I kind of
think of him as the Tesla of architecture.

~~~
wallflower
If you don't mind me asking, what is Falling Water really like? Would you
recommend the in-depth tour?

~~~
kevin_morrill
I went on the tour about 10 years ago. It was incredible. You got to see every
room in the house first hand and walk on the terraces.

As with most Wright buildings, it's one thing to see pictures and entirely
another to walk in them yourself.

Cannot recommend the Fallingwater tour enough.

------
foobarbazqux
I really like the photos in the article. Also, this is one of those rare cases
where the answer to a headline ending in a question mark is "yes"!

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betteridge%27s_law_of_headline...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betteridge%27s_law_of_headlines)

------
stephencanon
The Johnson Wax building is undeniably beautiful and a groundbreaking piece of
modern architecture. For all that, however, it would be nice to find a
“greatest office” that doesn’t have a leaky roof.

~~~
chiph
The Burroughs Wellcome building in RTP is also an amazing design that leaked
like a sieve (they may have fixed it by now). It was used in the Christopher
Walken & Natalie Woods movie _Brainstorm_

[http://www.flickr.com/photos/73172555@N00/1958939613/in/set-...](http://www.flickr.com/photos/73172555@N00/1958939613/in/set-72157603071653420/)

[http://www.flickr.com/photos/73172555@N00/1958939599/in/set-...](http://www.flickr.com/photos/73172555@N00/1958939599/in/set-72157603071653420/)

~~~
rwg
There's something about "bold" building designs and leaking like sieves that
goes hand in hand...

[http://chronicle.com/blogs/buildings/mit-sues-frank-gehry-
ov...](http://chronicle.com/blogs/buildings/mit-sues-frank-gehry-over-
problems-with-stata-center-design/4866)

~~~
chiph
I'm not a fan of his designs. I don't deny they're bold, and the titanium
"scales" on them are a modern interpretation of slate roofing tiles. But the
proportions are all wrong to my eye. It's like he's channeling Theodor Geisel.

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adamlj
I always think of the Simon & Garfunkel song when hearing his name.

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analog31
"This could explain the disconnect over cubicles. Maybe the people in charge
of facilities, not having any concentration to shatter, have no idea that
working in a cubicle feels to a hacker like having one's brain in a blender."
[1]

1\. [http://paulgraham.com/gh.html](http://paulgraham.com/gh.html)

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pinaceae
nothing beats walls and a door. this open plan office would not be so nice
once people are on their phones.

i adore FLW, but this is not his best work by far.

~~~
mcdoh
I wish I didn't have a phone at my desk.

~~~
bdunbar
I just changed employers. Found the new desk does not come with a phone, and
may never come with a phone. We communicate via email, or hipchat, or just
walking over and saying 'hi'.

I might miss it .. but so far, so good.

