Frank

(Guggenheim) On the corner of East 89th Street in the Upper East Side of Manhattan is FLW’s most blunt masterpiece. Organized around the great space above, it radically shifts from his geometric prairie style of years prior. The open rotunda creates multiple viewing opportunities of the art and to look across at other guests. Wright was quoted as attempting “to render the inherent plasticity of organic forms in architecture”. This daring attempt to challenge modernist architecture’s rigid geometry proves successful and seems to suggest certain new ideas about human sentiment. The circle shape brings unity and a sense of infinity to the user. Some thought the building would overshadow the museum’s artworks, and others felt awkward to hang paintings on concave walls. Six months after the death of Frank Lloyd Wright, the museum opened its doors to large crowds and the building became widely praised and inspired by my architects, including myself.