Design
The complex exemplifies Wright's Prairie School ideal and is comparable with other notable works from this period in his career, such as the Robie House in Chicago and the Dana-Thomas House in Springfield, Illinois. Wright was especially fond of the Martin House design, referring to it for some 50 years as his "opus", and calling the complex "A well-nigh perfect composition".
The main motives and indications were: First - To reduce the number of necessary parts of the house and the separate rooms to a minimum, and make all come together as an enclosed space--so divided that light, air and vista permeated the whole with a sense of unity.
- — Frank Lloyd Wright, on architecture.
In 1900 Edward Bok of the Curtis Publishing Company, bent on improving American homes, invited architects to publish designs in the Ladies' Home Journal, the plans of which readers could purchase for five dollars. Subsequently the Wright design "A Home in a Prairie Town" was published in February 1901 and first introduced the term "Prairie Home". The Martin House, designed in 1903, bears a striking resemblance to that design. The facades are almost identical, except for the front entrance, and the Martin House repeats most of the Journal House ground floor. An awkward failure was no direct connection from the kitchen to the dining room. The Journal House had a serving pantry, but Wright was forced to give this up in order to accommodate the pergola.
Of particular significance are the fifteen distinctive patterns of nearly 400 art glass windows that Wright designed for the entire complex, some of which contain over 750 individual pieces of jewel-like iridescent glass, that act as “light screens” to visually connect exterior views with the spaces within. More patterns of art glass were designed for the Martin House than for any other of Wright's Prairie Houses.
Walter Burley Griffin landscaped the grounds, which were created as integral to the architectural design. A semi-circular garden which contained a wide variety of plant species, chosen for their blossoming cycles to ensure blooms throughout the growing season, surrounded the Martin House verandah. The garden included two sculptures by Wright collaborator Richard Bock.
Read more about this topic: Darwin D. Martin House
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