SAMARA EDUCATION SERIES

SAMARA EDUCATION SERIES
Spring 2001

Frank Lloyd Wright's Use of
Building Materials

Wright's Materials
Jerry Johnson
Interpreter

Infrastructure

Sometimes simplicity of design leads to complexity of structure, and the Usonian house was a perfect example. The materials selected for the interior and exposed structures at SAMARA were quite conventional, but were applied in unconventional ways.

In conventional footings used in Indiana for homes built on concrete slabs, a narrow, but deep trench was cut below the frost line and filled with non-reinforced concrete. At SAMARA, a wider trench was cut, but not as deep as for usual construction in the region. To assure good drainage, tile was placed at the bottom of the trench, and gravel was placed in the trench to about a foot of ground level. On top, a reinforced concrete footing was poured.

Unlike most brick walls in the 1950s, which were veneers over a wooden frame structure. Wright used brick as both a structural support and decorative element. This application allowed both horizontal (wind), and vertical loading of the structure without requiring other support members to carry the horizontal forces, and in turn, allowed the use of large expenses of glass.

Two commercial style tar and felt roof decks with stone chips were built over the conventional wooden rafters/joists. The support for these structures was a combination of steel and wooden parts. Of particular note are steel posts imbedded in the window and door framework along the southeast portion of the living space and the steel posts that are well camouflaged at the outer edge of the walled area just off this space.

These support what appears to be a very radical cantilever roof, but, in fact, more like a conventional table with recessed legs - the illusion is typically Wright.

Mr. Wright went back to the Roman Empire, or the Oriental equivalent, for a heating system that has not seen use in the United States until he started using it in the 1930s. The one at SAMARA was a highly developed radiant system using copper tubing. Other plumbing in the house was pretty conventional for the 1950s. It utilized copper tubing for supply and cast iron and clay tile for drainage.

Frank Lloyd Wright's Use of Building Materials Participants
Meg Ellis	Jerry Johnson	Wally Rogers	Ted Osborn	Gary Stair

Frank Lloyd Wright Index

SAMARA Education Series

Home Page: Welcome Email: Wally Rogers