News and updates from the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation
Though the extent of Wright’s involvement with this project remains unclear, the Arizona Biltmore Hotel and Cottage complex is generally recognized as a collaboration between Wright and Albert Chase McArthur, a former draftsman in Wright’s Oak Park studio.
Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation | Feb 4, 2017
Wright’s design for the structure he affectionately termed “a little St. Sophia” is defined by the symbols of the Greek Orthodox faith (it is essentially a Greek cross inscribed in a circle), but it is a marked departure from traditional Byzantine church architecture.
Wright designed his American System-Built structures between 1911-1917, motivated by his lifelong interest in affordable housing.
Elsie—the wife of governor, senator, and newspaper publisher Henry J. Allen—commissioned Wright to design the couple’s home in College Hill, a newly developed residential neighborhood of Wichita.
While in residence at Taliesin, Wright did business with the wholesaler Albert Dell German. In exchange for unpaid bills, Wright designed a new warehouse for German in Richland Center, Wisconsin.
This building, exemplary of Wright’s Usonian style, represents the architect’s answer to low-cost housing for the average American.