The Prairie Style first became a part of the architectural landscape in the early 1900’s in and around the Chicago area. Its main proponent was Frank Lloyd Wright, however it was also a style that was used by several other fellow architects which Wright dubbed the “The New School of the Middle West.” The style is inspired by the broad flat expanses of the Midwest and was the first uniquely American architectural style of what is known as the “American Century.” It is characterized by strong horizontal geometry and massing, utilizing local materials such as wood and stone, open floor plans, connected indoor and outdoor spaces, low pitched roofs, and an affiliation to the environment in which the structure is built.

Taliesin, https://gooollysandra.com/tag/prairie-style-architecture/

Emil Bach house, https://www.architecture.org/online-resources/architecture-encyclopedia/prairie-style

The style has strong ties to the Arts and Crafts movement, however it rejects elaborate decorations and instead focuses on craftsmanship and simple decoration. One of the quintessential examples of this style is the Robie House in Chicago, which was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The large overhangs and cantilevered roof provides a seamless connection between the indoor and outdoor spaces, while large banks of windows bring in abundant light to the indoor areas. Roman bricks, which are generally longer and thinner than traditional bricks, were used to emphasize the horizontal lines of the house. Wright even went so far as to instruct the masons to minimize the vertical grout lines so that the horizontal line of the bricks was even more emphasized. Inside, the floorplan is a large open room centered around a main hearth. Stained glass windows designed by the architect let in ample light, while subtle decorative touches made of wood accent the interior. Originally, the house was meant to have furniture that was designed by Wright, however the original owners of the home had to sell it for financial reasons before this could be done. 

Frederick C. Robie house interior, https://www.teachingbydesign.org/about/robie-house/

The style is not limited to residential buildings. The Unity Temple in Oak Park, Illinois is an example of Wright utilizing the design language of Prairie Style in the design of a church. The site of the proposed church was narrow and close to a busy street, so Wright placed the windows well above street level to reduce noise from traffic passing by. He also was able to build the structure using less money by utilizing poured-in-place reinforced concrete that had, until then, primarily only been used in factories and warehouses.

Unity Temple, photo by IvoShandor – Own work, CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2181411

 

Unity Temple interior, https://franklloydwright.org/site/unity-temple/

Ultimately, the Prairie Style’s popularity was short-lived. After 1915, few Prairie Style projects were completed and the style eventually died out, however its influence can be seen today in everything from Modernist buildings to Mid-Century ranches and the surviving examples are some of the most beloved examples of American architecture in the world.

 

gooollysandra. “Prairie Style Architecture.” Accessed January 22, 2025. https://gooollysandra.com/tag/prairie-style-architecture/.

 

“Robie House – Teaching By Design.” Accessed January 22, 2025. https://www.teachingbydesign.org/about/robie-house/.

 

The Prairie Style | Frank Lloyd Wright Trust (no date). Available at: https://flwright.org/explore/prairie-style (Accessed: 20 January 2025).

Prairie Style (no date) Chicago Architecture Center. Available at: https://www.architecture.org/online-resources/architecture-encyclopedia/prairie-style (Accessed: 20 January 2025).

Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. “Robie House.” Accessed January 22, 2025. https://franklloydwright.org/site/robie-house/.

“Unity Temple.” In Wikipedia, January 18, 2025. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Unity_Temple&oldid=1270135392.

 

Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. “Unity Temple.” Accessed January 22, 2025. https://franklloydwright.org/site/unity-temple/.

 

4 Comments. Leave new

  • Bryce Johnson
    January 29, 2025 8:57 pm

    Great post! This aesthetic is one that I had seen around quite a bit but never knew has a name! I do like the mention of Frank Lloyd Wright, since I had already known a few of his most iconic designs. I feel like I see a few similarities to brutalism, which seems to have come later.
    Do you have more information about how this style originally came about? Did it evolve from another architectural style?

    • Scott Ehrlich
      January 29, 2025 9:33 pm

      Thanks Bryce! According to what I read about Prairie Style, it evolved from a combination of the Arts and Crafts movement and the work of Louis Sullivan. The primary architects of the style embraced Sullivan’s architectural theories, which called for a distinctly American architecture rooted in nature, but also incorporated modern elements, like flat planes and stylized ornamentation.

  • Taylor Wittwer
    January 24, 2025 4:19 pm

    I enjoyed this post! I never knew about the Prairie style prior to reading this post, and I appreciated all of the detail you included regarding the features that are seen in architecture that distinguish it. I am curious as to why the style was short-lived. Was there a reason for this?

    • Scott Ehrlich
      January 26, 2025 2:03 pm

      Thanks Taylor! As far as why the style fell out of favor, the best reason I could find was that people just chose to adopt revival styles from the past. They apparently found those styles to be more comfortable.

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