Frank Lloyd Wright, America's and perhaps the world's most famous architect, is once again posthumously enjoying a flurry of attention with the listing for sale of his 'Millard House' (1923) in Pasadena, California. Having designed over 1000 structures, it is said that Wright stated he would rather have built the Millard House than St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome, claiming it as one of his favorites and affectionately nick-naming it, 'La Miniatura.' Originally built for Alice Millard (a humble book dealer) for $17,000 USD it has been listed with Crosby Doe Associates for $4,495,000 USD.
Wright is most famous for a philosophy he coined, 'organic architecture,' aptly represented in the Millard House by his use of concrete blocks as the primary building material. Departing from a purely aesthetic appeal, Wright saw an opportunity to reduce the cost of the build and a noble re-purposing of that, which would have otherwise been relegated to the industrial.
Before the days of Scandinavian in-built storage solutions, ornately carved wooden units inhabit the bedrooms, complimented by soft-furnishings in ethnic prints and pendant lights encased in structures of woven reeds.
The carved concrete block and wooden aesthetic meanders indoors and is permitted to steal focus in the halls and the mezzanine. Very minimal styling manifests in the occasional mirror to further lengthen the space but the building materials are generally left naked within the interior spaces.
