Understanding wood according to Wright
ELIGE MADERA

Understanding wood according to Wright

Who could understand wood better than an architect who was raised and forged his career around nature, namely Frank Lloyd Wright.

Who could understand wood better than an architect who was raised and forged his career around nature, namely Frank Lloyd Wright.

 

Wright was a revolutionary architect in his time. Often criticized for his work, he never stopped doing what he enjoyed most. He designed more than a thousand projects, of which only half could be carried out, standing out for his continuity between interior and exterior spaces, and their harmony with nature.

As quoted by the website Madera y Construcción, Wright said that "We may use wood with intelligence only if we understand wood." The timber industry promotes its use in the most suitable layouts, manners, and places for it to be understood, but the renowned architect went further.

One perspective on wood comes from Japanese Shintoism, a religion based on the worship of the forces of nature, including wood from trees. From how it arose and was implemented in Japanese constructions, to the link between human beings and wood, these ideas enchanted Wright during his stay there.

Wright delegated all responsibility over how to work with wood to whoever could bring it to its maximum expression, that is, the use of technologies is only a form of support for the sensitivity of the hand that shapes and values the life of the tree, and that life does not have to be lost. Furthermore, wood, in Wright's eyes, became more valuable with time.

Thus, when it comes to construction, it is not taken as improvisation, but as the art of architecture. As Wright said, "The architect should strive continually to simplify; the ensemble of the rooms should then be carefully considered that comfort and utility may go hand in hand with beauty," showing that he did not take his work lightly.

Working with wood intelligently goes beyond its practical uses. For Frank Lloyd Wright, it has to do with the use of resources, the sensitivity in treating the material, and the ability to admire it.

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