mbining of arts and technical teaching was particularly influential. The design style and method of teaching are visible 100 years later, despite being open for only 14 years across three locations and having had at most 200 students, at any one time.

Gropius’ (1883-1969) belief in standardised architecture, mass production and large-scale construction became key concepts of modernism, which he described in his book ‘The Idea and Construction’1. An example being his design for a collection of accommodation towers for workers at Siemens, Siemensstadt Estate (Siemens Street) in Berlin, or mass-produced housing near to the Bauhaus school in Dessau
The economic, minimalist design style of Gropius and the Bauhaus School’s philosophy is often referred to as ‘form follows function’ and contrasts with Frank Lloyd Wright’s statement that ‘form and function should be one’.

CHAPTER 1: FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT

Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959) designed more than 1000 buildings, over half of which were completed. He had a passion for designing buildings to collaborate in their intended environment and ‘enhance natural beauty’2, whilst still ensuring functionality. He is best known for his ‘Prairie School’ style of architecture and this period of his work (1917-1929) best fits with his tenant that “form and function should be one” and that “The physician can bury his mistakes, but the architect can only advise his clients to plant vines.”3

The ‘Prairie School’ of design was an architectural style for the Midwest of the United States, centered around Chicago. Its buildings feature horizontal lines and broad overhanging eaves, typically through the use of flat, or hipped roofs and lack of decoration. The horizontal references of the design were said to evoke the wide, flat and treeless expanses of the prairies.

In 1991, Wright was acknowledged as ‘the greatest American Architect of all time’4, by the American Institute of Architects.

Frank Lloyd Wright cited his five key inspirations as:

1. Louis Sullivan (1856-1924), perhaps best known as the ‘Father of Skyscrapers’5, a key member of the ‘Chicago School’ of architects and influencer in the ‘Prairie School’ style of architecture. Sullivan was a mentor to Wright long after he worked in the practise of Adler & Sullivan (1888-1893) and Sullivan referred to him as his “Lieber Meister” (German for “Beloved Master”).