Frank Lloyd Wright's Beachy House (1906)

[Big ole Boy]

What's a good replacment cost for it?

- similar materials - or function of the materials -

Whats the reproduction Cost?

How much more expensive was it to build in 1906 verses another home of equal

function?

How bout of equal quality for a 1906 house?

Quite a bit I would imagine.

FLW - rubbed some people the wrong way - I like that he existed at all - he was

an illuminated figure.

 

[Richard Carlsen]

Hold on a moment.

I never said that FLW was not innovative and ahead of his time in many things he did. That he certainly was although as I remember some writings or info on him, like many creative types, he was a sort of strange duck.

What I said was that I personally do not like FLW houses. I think the test of time is that nobody is building them now and there are major design flaws in some of them as far as construction goes. They certainly have stood the test of time in the art world. In the real world of houses where people actually live from day to day, they are not really a success. This is often the case of those who break new ground. Their work is so far ahead of their understanding of technology and what is available that their work is considered good art but turns out to be functionally lacking. Because the upkeep and maintenance on a FLW house is so intensive and expensive, I think they suffer from functional depreciation (design/construction). I also think that if he had todays building techniques and methods, his work would be much more enduring though his designs would still not turn me on.

I personally could not see myself living in one of his houses from a comfort/livability standpoint nor could I see most of the "market" doing so with any degree of ease. Perhaps this is the reason that the FLW design is passé in the building world.

If one wants to talk about enduring designs, think Cape COD or Chalet or Ranch style houses. Rancher have been around for about 60 years or so. Cape Cods for well over 200 years! And they are still building these designs. Not as flashy or "innovative" but also not lacking in market appeal and heavy upkeep/repairs.