Famous Architects in Literature
Famous architects were the subjects of books I couldn’t put down when studying to be an architect. I read about various architects out there, and one biography stood out for me.
I’m not a reader, per se, because I tend to over-analyze books. Also, I read so many academic books, that I burnt myself out on reading. Yet, a good famous architects book will always grab me.
Frank Lloyd Wright
Image from Goodreads.com
There was this book, “An Autobiography” by Frank Lloyd Wright, that was fantastic. Well-written, about his life and his contribution, dating back to when he was born. There were a lot of things about it that I loved.
Number one is that he was a genius. He was ahead of his time. I know that’s a cliche, but it’s true. Very few famous architects like that come around.
What I loved about him too is that he was very human. He was very flawed. Frank Lloyd Wright sacrificed a lot to become a great architect. He was the Steve Jobs of back then. The Bill Gates of his time. These were gentlemen that gave up college to start their enterprises. It was no different with Frank Lloyd Wright. He was brilliant in the field of architecture, and he did not go to college. He studied under some famous architects and went the long route to become an architect.
A Terrible Tragedy
His personal life was tragic. I’ll never forget the impact of reading it in the book. I learned more about it working for famous architects like George Knowles. This is because Mr. Knowles worked and studied under Frank Lloyd Wright. I learned the story about how Frank Lloyd Wright learned about his family’s murder. He was on a train, traveling from Chicago to New York. Reading the newspaper, he found out that a servant had gone crazy and murdered his family. He discovered this on the train while he was by himself. Famous architects did not have Internet, telephones, or cells phones back then.
So, he fell into a big depression. Today, many famous architects are able to cope with depression and tragedy, and they’re able to go on. Still, a lot of them can’t. Frank Lloyd Wright was able to pick up the pieces. Not only did he remarry, but he re-invigorated his profession. He picked up his career and he continued to do magnificent pieces of architecture up until the day he died.
Success in Your Golden Years
He also demonstrated that the profession of architecture is an old person’s profession. We do our best work in our later years. Many famous architects think that retirement is the only option later in life. In an architect’s life, their best work can happen during their retirement years.
That was something that I learned about Frank Lloyd Wright. I have complete admiration for him. As famous architects go, he was a genius.
