Who Knew FLW Saw Color Other Than Red?

I promised more exploration in my color theories.  Some may oppose my color choices, some may envy, some may be riddled by them.  Either way, they define my aesthetic.

Going through the years in our design program has made me think more and more about who I am as a designer.  It seems everyone else knows what is "me," and I know what is "me," but I can't quite put it into words.  One word I believe can fit the description of my aesthetic is whimsical.  That's all I've got so far.  Give it time.

This project was done as the final for my spring 2011 semester with Lisa Tucker.  Lisa is an advocate and expert when it comes to historic preservation and adaptive reuse of historic sites.  Our site was a Frank Lloyd Wright building situated in Wisconsin (I think).  More importantly, it was [going to be designed to be] Taliesin East.  Taliesin West is in Arizona, where the students would reside for most of the year in awesome, perfect weather. Shout out to the desert for having great weather.  Taliesin East is where they would retreat for a few months out of the year when Taliesin West was just too hot to deal with.

The building was a giant, concrete warehouse.  FLW touches, of course.  Four stories, one big rectangle.  VERY minimal apertures for light, seeing as it was a warehouse.  We started with Froebel blocks to build shapes for certain words, such as "beauty," and "symmetry."  What we built served as inspiration.

Among the space plan of my project, I used the Froebel blocks that I built.  Magically, it fit perfectly into the footprint of the building.  Must've been fate.  But, what I really wanted to concentrate on in this project was reinterpreting Frank Lloyd Wright as the architecture and design world knows him.

What most designers and architects think about FLW:  he loves concrete, he loves red, he loves wood, he loves nature.  Yes, all true.  What they don't typically know:  his drawings actually have amazing color.  I didn't know this, at all.  When I discovered these drawings, I was inspired.

What?!  Pastels!  Watercolor!  COLOR!

I was shocked.  While all of his black and white drawings are stunning as well, I had no idea he had a pretty, artsy way of interpreting his projects.  I knew from that point on that I would not take the "safe FLW red, wood, concrete" reinterpretation.  Yes, 90% of the final projects had that exact theme and yes, some of them were very successful.

My easter-egg-themed sheets seemed to stick out like a sore thumb from across the room amongst a sea of red and concrete.  Was I ashamed?  No.  This is who I am.

First Floor Froebel Cafe

Fourth Floor Student Lounge

Fourth Floor Dorm Room

Not only did I use zero red, I used pastels.  Alice in Wonderland colors again, if you will.  Our two special guests for this final pin-up were two women who, in the end, did not appreciate this.

Again, I did not get bothered.  I had done the research and found that Frank Lloyd Wright actually knew color existed.  What I did, in my opinion, is not putting FLW to shame.  My design honors what he had as a creative, intelligent person.  It honors the spring time in Wisconsin.  It honors the bright young minds that attend Taliesin.  It inspires.

When people see his sketches next to my perspectives, it all comes together; that is what makes me truly content with this project.