An Organic Architecture: The Architecture of Democracy

In May 1939, the celebrated American architect Frank Lloyd Wright visited London and gave four lectures at the Royal Institute of British Architects. The meetings were hailed at the time as the most remarkable events of recent architectural affairs in England, and the lectures were published as An Organic Architecture in September 1939 by Lund Humphries. The texts remain an important expression of the architect’s core philosophy and are being reissued now in a new edition to commemorate the 150th anniversary in 2017 of Frank Lloyd Wright’s birth. In the lectures, Frank Lloyd Wright covers a wide range of topics including his Usonian houses, his visions for the future of cities both in North America and elsewhere, particularly in Britain, Taliesin and the Johnson Waxworks factory, the then-imminent Second World War, and the ‘Future’. In doing so, his charismatic, flamboyant character leaps to life from the pages, not to mention his hugely creative intelligence, making these essays very enjoyable and entertaining. This new edition includes an insightful new essay by esteemed architectural historian, Professor Andrew Saint, which sets the lectures within context and highlights their continued resonance and appeal.