By Jeffrey M. Chusid
W.W. Norton Company, $55.00, 256 pages
Highly Technical Work about the Freeman House
Frank Lloyd Wright is considered to be the best architect in American history. More people know of him, and his homes, than any other major American architect. Many of his homes are iconic and well known, but what about the homes that are not so well known, that did not quite work? This is a book about the Freeman House in Los Angeles. The Freeman House did not quite work out the way that Mr. Wright wanted. His design for textile blocks never quite worked. His ideas about windows and doors, and a mild California climate by Midwest standards never worked either. The roof constantly leaked. Air got in between the blocks, many of the blocks rotted away because of the moisture during the winter months. Even after the house was completed the Freeman’s hired another architect to make repairs. USC now owns the house and they have been preserving the house, making upgrades so that house will still stand for a long time.
This book is highly technical after the first two chapters. Going into great detail on the construction process. This technical detail will throw off the average reader.
Reviewed by Kevin Winter
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