Frank Lloyd Wright's
SAMARA
John E. Christian, Owner


SAMARAQuest


Benton Fourth Grade Team

The Tour People

Kelsey Deno / Sam Benson / Blaire Terpstra
Brittany Scherer / Mindi McCartney

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SAMARAQuest
    1   How is living in a FLW house different from living in a
          regular house?
    2   Do you enjoy doing tours?
    3   What are some funny questions you have received?

It is difficult to explain how living in a Frank Lloyd Wright designed house is different from living in a regular house, but it is different.

One of Mr. Wright's often repeated philosophical quotations is- "A house is more than a home if it is also a piece of art." This is certainly true.

You can see from this view of SAMARA, how living in the artistic atmosphere he created in the living spaces of his Usonian homes tends to significantly raise the general overall spirit of the occupants.

The innovative and open space of his designs bring those occupying the space closer to Nature- the sun, the vegetation, the snow, the rain, the icicles, the animal life- resulting in ever-changing views, moods and feelings.

With the destruction of the box-like architecture, these changing conditions are much more readily apparent. Hardly a week goes by without striking surprises that I have not experienced before.

These surprises result primarily from the ever-changing size, shape and character of shadows produced outside and inside the house. The shadows appear to come and go in different ways in different rooms of the house.

The changes that occur depend on the weather conditions, the time of day, and especially on the seasons of the year. As the sun appears to move across the sky, it rides low in the winter time and high in the summer with many different levels in between.

Clouds also affect the nature of the shadows produced. Many changes in nature constantly affect the character of the shadows and thus, the different effects they produce.

Another exciting factor in living in a Frank Lloyd Wright Home is the overall reactions and perceptions that visitors experience to the nature of the exterior and interior components of the structure.

These reactions and perceptions vary widely. The openness of the space within extends it extensively to the outside environment in a manner that is quite evident and yet somehow the effect is very mysterious.

The space seems to seige upon our imaginations in some unexplained way. It seems that we are not the same when we leave such building spaces as we were when we entered.

I enjoy doing tours for many different groups ranging from kindergarten age, grade school levels, junior high school, high school, college, professional groups of several types, women's clubs, and other adult groups of all ages.


Last year, I had over 2,300 such visitors ranging in group numbers from one to two up to over 50 people. They came from both local areas and other parts of the United States and from foreign countries.

Twenty-eight states were represented and 12 foreign countries- India, Canada, Germany, Japan, Austria, Belgium, England, China, Scotland, Croatia, Mexico, and the Czech Republic.

My favorite groups are from the grade school levels like your group.

I do receive some very interesting and sometimes funny questions. Examples are:

• Do you have a favorite hiding place?
• What is the matter with that bird?
• Was Frank Lloyd Wright funny?
• Has any car ever made it up your driveway?
• Any funny stories?
• How much is your house worth? I want to buy it!
• Why do you have that jungle of trees out there?
• You have a famous Frank Lloyd Wright home. How can you stand to live in it?

Does your team have any funny questions you would like to ask me?

I've enjoyed responding to your questions. To learn more about SAMARA, I encourage you to visit the other Benton Fourth Grade Team pages. You may also be interested in taking a look at the Benton SAMARAQuest Challenge.

The Benton SAMARAQuest Challenge is designed to expand your learnings beyond what you already know about Frank Lloyd Wright and SAMARA. The Challenge suggests activities for exploring things you're interested in learning more about in your studies of the world's greatest architect.

Be sure to visit other
Benton Fourth Grade Teams
to learn more about
SAMARA.
The Benton SAMARAQuest Fifth Grade Teams The Tour People / The Origamies / The Favorites
The Flat Roofs / The Fireplace People / The Philippine Mahoganies
Visit these other Benton SAMARAQuest Teams
Grade 3 / Grade 4 / Grade 5 / Grade 6

Return to the Benton SAMARAQuest Main Directory

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Copyright © 1998   All rights reserved.
The John Christian Family Memorial Trust, Inc. and LEARNING ASSOCIATES
Latest revision September 30, 1998