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


SAMARAQuest


Benton Fifth Grade Team

The Wrights

Joey Siefers / Carolyn Jenkinson
Janell Callahan / Elysse Varner

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SAMARAQuest
    1   Are all of the electronics done by remote?
    2   How did your family feel about such a small kitchen?

When it came to lights for the houses Mr. Wright designed, he was well ahead of his time. He was the first to use electric light bulbs in his home town of Oak Park, Illinois.

Furthermore, he was the first to introduce "indirect" lighting in which the bulbs (the source of the light) were hidden from view.

The light just seems to come out of the brick or the wood work with the source remaining somewhat of a mystery.

Remote devices were not yet available during Mr. Wright's lifetime; however, he did provide for the ability to change the intensity of the light in order to set the appropriate mood of the space.

Not all of the electronics are remote controlled, but it is now possible to set that up. Furthermore, it is now possible to "voice activate" electronic systems that will respond to only one person's voice.

I set up a voice activation system for the oriental lions under the carport. When you speak to them, red lights flash out from their mouths in response.

Mr. Wright's kitchens in the Usonian houses he designed were always quite small. This he did to conserve space to keep the cost of the house to a level he called "affordable".

At first, we thought that our kitchen (he called it the work space) was too small. But upon using it, we soon found the space was designed for efficiency.

There is more than adequate counter and storage space. Mrs. Christian entertained for many dinner parties and found the work space to be more than satisfactory.

I've enjoyed responding to your questions. To learn more about SAMARA, I encourage you to visit the other Benton Fifth 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 Fifth Grade Teams
to learn more about
SAMARA.
The Benton SAMARAQuest Fifth Grade Teams The Wrights / The Pink Light Bulbs / Falling Water
The Wright Team / The Falling Icicles / The Icicles
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