Taliesin Massacre - 1914

In the style of Lady Gaga, my piece today is on bloody acts in history….(and Architecture in my case). Most people have heard of Frank Lloyd Wright and know of his architectural achievements to some degree. He does have a darker side to his history.

Known for his Prairie Style, and 'oragnic' Architecture, he became arguably the most famous Architect in America to date. His compound, Taliesin, was the scene of a grisly murder of seven at the hand of a servant hired just weeks prior. Frank Lloyd Wright was not present at the time, but the story is nonetheless a horrific recount of lives lost. In the years after the murder, Frank was silent about the incident, and it is difficult to know exactly what occurred that day.

For a brief background, and set up to the story, Taliesin was Frank Lloyd Wright’s residence in Wisconsin, designed by him. It was also where his school was (and still is) and is a shining example and fine achievement for the Architect. Wright grew up near this plot of land, in which its natural beauty is often attributed to his integration of the landscape with his structures.

In 1913, Mrs. Mamah Borthwick Cheney decided to move in with Wright. She was the wife of Mr. Cheney, a client of FLW. Mr. Wright had a wife and 6 children that he left for her as well. In the early 20th century, this was not socially accepted. It was excused in their case, since he was a celebrity of the time.

Some examples of work by Frank Lloyd Wright:

Falling Water:

Edgar J. Kaufmann, Sr. residence (of Kaufmann's Dept. Stores)
Ca. 1934 Bear Run, Pa.

(photo from livinghome.pb.org)

Guggenheim Museum:

Solomon R. Guggenheim
opened in 1959, New York, New York

(picture from Wikimedia Commons)

Johnson Wax Headquarters:

S.C. Johnson and Son, Inc.
Racine, Wisconsin

(Photo by Jeff Dean , located on Wikimedia Commons)

On August 15 1914, Mrs “Mamah” Borthwick (Cheney), was hosting a lunch for nine at Taliesin; ultimately her last meal. Frank Lloyd Wright was away in Chicago working on a project.

One account says that the brutality started when Julian Carlton, a servant at the estate, asked one of the diners, Mr. Weston for some gas because there was a stain on the carpet. In what must have seemed to be a flash in time, the company, Mrs Borthwick and her two children were in a room ignited with flames. As the guests attempted to jump through glass to escape imminent death by the fire set, they were greeted by an axe wielding Julian, meeting the blade of his weapon.

Another, and perhaps more accurate account, describes Julian attacking Mamah first as she sipped soup, with “her head belching blood”. Robert Drennan’s book, in ‘Death in a Prairie House', recounts the day in gory detail. There is no question of the fire set, nor the outcome of seven lives lost.

No one could escape the dining area because Carlton had also locked the doors. He stood waiting for his victims to escape and one by one took seven of nine to an early death. Two had survived.


Julian left the fiery inferno and victims he killed and left for dead. He was soon found on the grouds nearby, after ingesting acid. He avoided an "on the spot lynching", was treated and survied the poisoning. He later died of starvation seven weeks after the incident. Taliesin was revived and is now a not for profit organization, Taliesin Preservation, Inc.

Julian Carlton

(image from news.bbc.co.uk.com)

No One knows the reason for the massacre, not even the killers wife, who was also employed by Wright. His horrific acts will be ever sensationalized and remain a mystery of exactly why he was driven to murder. Speculation swirled around rumors that Carlton felt he was underpaid and/or was driven mad by Frank Lloyd Wright’s affair and co-habitation with his mistress.

Taliesin

(image from koa.com)

Taliesin

(image from Taliesin Preservation, inc.)

On a MUCH lighter note: Frank Lloyd Wright’s son, John Lloyd Wright invented Lincoln Logs the following year in 1916.

(image from lincolnlogs.knex.com)

A Brief History of Charles and Ray Eames

I have gone back and forth this morning about what I am going to write about this week, and I was about to throw in the towel, when I noticed an Eames Chair on one of the design websites I had pulled up. Viola! A Blog was born....

Charles and Ray Eames were a married couple and design powerhouse in mid century America. Their influence in the modern design movement is seen and emulated even today. Today, their work makes up 1% of the Library of Congress.

Charles Eames was born in St. Louis. Mo., in 1907, attended Washington University on a scholarship for Architecture. Later dismissed, a professor had gone on record saying “His views were too modern” . Charles had an Architecture practice for a few years, and was not overwhelmingly successful in his early years. He knew Father and son Finnish Architects Eero and Eliel Saarnen (of St. Louis Arch fame). Later, Eero and Charles developed the concept of bending and molding wood for furniture. (Later, the method evolved into plastics) . At Aero’s invitation, Charles moved to Michigan to work at Cranbrook Academy of Art as a teacher. There he met a student, Ray-Bernice Alexandra Kasier, and they married in 1941. She was his second wife.

Ray Eames was a designer and filmmaker, and also had experience studying abstract painting with Hans Hoffman in the 1930’s. Together the couple moved to Los Angeles, where they spent the rest of their lives. There, they constructed the Eames House, where they worked, lived and played. Its intention was a Case Study for ‘Art and Architecture Magazine’. It took years to design, build and complete. It is still owned and maintained by the Eames family, and is an icon to American Architecture.

Eames House: Los Angeles, California

In the decades spanning from the 1940’s – 1970’s , the two together did film studies, architecture, art and most notably, furniture design. Their designs are omniscient today and commonly used.

Charles is usually given credit for much of the designs, but both Charles and Ray were heavily involved in most designs produced. Their designs took years of trial and error and development. Charles was quoted in reference to their design philosophy,


"But you can go beyond that and the guys that have not only means, but a certain amount of knowledge and understanding, go the next step and they eat off of a banana leaf. And I think that in these times when we fall back and regroup, that somehow or other, the banana leaf parable sort of got to get working there, because I'm not prepared to say that the banana leaf that one eats off of is the same as the other eats off of, but it's that process that has happened within the man that changes the banana leaf. And as we attack these problems—and I hope and I expect that the total amount of energy used in this world is going to go from high to medium to a little bit lower—the banana leaf idea might have a great part in it”

I will leave you today with pictures of their work. Much of the office furniture is contracted today through Herman Miller and their fabric designs are contracted through Maharam. Also, many of these designs are availale at http://www.dwr.com/ (Design Within Reach)

Illustration of Eames: Moulded Palstic Chair

(love this!)

Eames: Sofa Compact

Eames: Hang it All

Eames: Management Chair

Eames: Lounge Chair and Ottoman

Eames: Moulded Pastic Rocking Chair

Eames: Storage Units

Eames: Moulded Plywood Chair

Charles Ray:Eames

How cool are these?

From the files of.. How cool are these? Here are a few pictures of some great and aesthetic feats in Architecture and design. They speak for themselves, so enjoy!

Les Baines Des Docks, Le Havre France

Public Pool Facility

Architect: Jean Nouvel

Pictures from www.dezen.com

Longchamp Store Staircase - New York, NY

Architect: Thomas Heatherwick

Pictures from http://www.deputy-dog.com/

Lefroy Brooks - Belair Collection

Lav and bath fixtures

..and to quote Ferris Bueller, "So choice"

pictures from http://www.lefroybrooks.com/

Woodworking Facilities

Okay kiddos! Here is the “buzz” on Wood working facilities and the codes that dictate them. I am going to mention this now, and never again in this session because I know very little of the details to my statement. Upfitting woodworking facilities ain’t cheap. Let's just say, they'll cut into your budget pretty well!

The basics, when deciding to start a woodworking facility:


You need sprinklers in your building.
You need to occupy a non combustible building
You’ll need to have fire alarms (full fire alarm)
You need to provide your awesome and very helpful designer with all of your equipment specs so he/she can pass it on to the electrical engineer to determine panel sizing.
You’ll need to provide a UL listed dust collection system. This is where it gets fun. There are now (2) approved methods of dust collection.

The peskiest part of upfitting a woodworking facility is presenting it to the County. Building reviewers and Fire Reviewers cringe and wince at the very mention of wood, let alone sawing wood. It actually puts reminds me of Johnny Depp’s version of Willy Wonka when he has to say the word, “parents”. Working closely with the reviewers will only help you in the long run.

To simply state it, the reviewers want all the dust in the air from the saws and equipment to be absolutely contained within the dust collection system, and if, for some reason it is not, they want the National Guard to find out about it and get the dust under control…STAT. Sometimes you may wonder why the national security threat is at "Orange", well now you know. You may laugh, but it’s pretty close to true!

Just think, if the beloved "Tim the Tool Man Taylor" had set up his show in Charlotte, it would never have aired. It would have been just too risky, even with Al there to keep things in check. Good thing it wasn't real anyway.

Maybe there is some alternate universe in North Carolina that only the code reviewers know about. If airborne dust particles catch fire inside a concrete facility, it becomes a breeding ground for the procreation of evil nymphs that have been hidden away from mortal man for thousands of years. Where do you think Sarah Palin came from?

In the reviewers universe, if a facility caught fire it would be a scene out of Independence Day. I am not sure if this county is trying to avoid the negative media attention or the really bad speech by Bill Pullman…. Either way, I concur. I don’t want that either!




“Good morning. In less than an hour, aircraft from here will join others from around the world. And you will be launching the largest aerial battle in the history of mankind. “Mankind.” That word should have new meaning for all of us today. We can’t be consumed by our petty differences anymore. We will be united in our common interests. Perhaps it’s fate that today is the Fourth of July, and you will once again be fighting for our freedom… Not from tyranny, oppression, or persecution… but from annihilation. We are fighting for our right to live. To exist. And should we win the day, the Fourth of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day the world declared in one voice: “We will not go quietly into the night!” We’re going to live on! We’re going to survive! Today we celebrate our Independence Day!”




- President Thomas Whitmore (Bill Pullman in Indepedence Day)





Yikes.

- Beth Herbst (Concerned movie goer)

The Power of Niagara

I picked Niagara Falls to talk about this week for three reasons. I was just there and have pictures of my own to post, I think it is interesting, and lastly, I’ll was there again on Saturday. There is a ton to write about, but what I think is the most alluring, other than its obvious natural beauty, is its history of hydro electricity. Niagara Falls is one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World and was formed from the glaciers of The Last Ice Age. One thing that will be clearly absent from this blog is the idiotic stories of people going over the falls in a barrel. Dumb!

Today, there are power plants on either side of the continental border of Canada and the “US and A” (as Borat would say). These stations produce ¼ of the world’s hydro electric power. Hydro Electricity is created when energy is extracted from water by generators and turbines, returns the water with the same chemical make up. It is a renewable resource, and creates very little waste.

Even before the very beginnings of the use of electricity, Niagara Falls was a focus for generating power. In 1759, Daniel Joncairs dug a ditch to his nearby sawmill to power a water wheel from the Niagara River. Later on, Augustus and Peter Porter, brothers, purchased the rights to the Eastern rapids with plans to trench a hydraulic canal and reroute a portion of the water to a reservoir above. The water would then flow downward to the gorge and with the help of turbines, would power industrial machinery above.

In 1853, Niagara Falls Hydraulic Power and Manufacturing Co. was chartered. In following years, they successfully powered up the nearby city of Niagara Falls.
At that time, there was no way to run power a long distance because everything was run on direct current.

In the late 19th Century, The Niagara Power Co. offered a prize of $100,000 if someone could figure out how to get power to run longer distances. “Currently” it was running only about 2 miles. Enter Nikola Tesla. He won the contest with the principle of alternating current. He came up against a lot of resistance from Thomas Edison, his former teacher. Thomas Edison had previously developed alternating current, but it had a lot of 'bugs' and didn't work efficiently. He paid Tesla, while under his wing, a lot of money to further develop it. Shortly after, Nikola Tesla left Edison and introduced his latest development of alternating current. For the rest of his life, Edison discredited Tesla. The drama was “shocking”!

Today, we have alternating current/direct current or AC/DC. This means that now electricity can be run extremely long distances AND we would later have a late night bar anthem of drunk moms everywhere– “You Shook Me”. bleh!

Rumor has it that Mr. Tesla’s entry included this statement to Niagara Power:


“I’m the one that wants to be with you.
Deep inside I hope you feel it too. “

photo of Tesla from www.myweb.cableone.net

(It’s not true…but…. I couldn’t resist!)


At this point in the late 1890’s and early 1900’s, power plants were being built on both sides of the border. This area did not escape tragedy, however. In 1895, the Schoelkopf Power Plant had a wall collapse from water seeping behind the rock face wall. In the morning, the workers noticed the wall leaking and attempted to slow it with sandbags. Too late! One worker died, but the others were luckily unhurt. I mention this to demonstrate that there was indeed struggle and failure when it came to the harnessing of the Falls. It was a long hard road full of shortages and not free of controversy. Another reason that I mention this is because THIS is MY WORST NIGHTMARE. If I believed in past lives, I would swear I was there to witness this. I am terrified of leaking and/or dripping water! Terrified!

Old power plant on the Canadian side.

There have been many people and companies involved in the development of the power usage of Niagara Falls, and I can’t possibly cover it all. Today’s result is the United States operating the two major power plants with an output of 2,700,000 KW of power and Canada outputting 2,338,000 KW out of 5 different plants. It is also been said that the actual force of The Falls has been backed off because of the nearby power plants. Figures as much as 50% less water flow currently as opposed to its natural flow. Don’t worry, it’s still wicked!

One other note that I’d like to point out is that my parents were witness to when the Falls were turned off completely in 1969. They say they have pictures, but I would bet that the film is still in the camera, in the toy box, in the sewing room and that is pretty safe to say.

The Dynamic Tower, Dubai UAE

Today’s topic is Green Design in Dubai, specifically, The Dynamic Tower, an 80 story, envoironmentally friendly building that is currently under construction. If you scroll through this blog’s archive, you can see my first touch on Dubai. My friend suggested that I write on the Eco-friendly side of this marvelous city. Okay, I will. He should consider this a wedding present, since he is getting married this weekend.

Dubai does have a green initiative and does follow “green building” standards as of January 2008. Come to find out, the United Arab Emirates has the largest Ecological footprint in the world, not America. Whoa! They are taking serious steps to reduce water consumption from 550 gallons per head/day to 250 gallons per day over a period of years.

An Arab company called Cyber Gear has also launched a website called Go-Green, a tool for everyday green living ideas and advice.

http://www.go-green.ae/

Leave it to Dubai, they will also have the one of the World’s first moving skyscraper, if not the first planned. It also happens to be Eco Friendly, as stated above. The Dynamic Tower is a building in which each floor rotates to take advantage of wind power; all 80 stories. It is also Solar powered with photovoltaic solar panels. Since each floor is CONSTANTLY in motion, 20% of the “roofs” are exposed to the sun at all times. This will create more solar energy than what the building will actually use. A full rotation takes about 3 hours. This $700 million project was the brainchild of Italian Architect, David Fisher. There is another one planned for Moscow in the near future. The completion date for the Dynamic Tower in Dubai is 2010.

picture from:

http://www.artnowmag.com/Magazine/Reports/2008/jun/Reports_Jun08.php

Each floor is fabricated off site, cutting down on cost by 10% and increases construction efficiency by 30%. That makes me smile. When I read most articles on green design, they mostly fail to mention that to get the structures in place to crank out eco friendly cars, build wind turbines etc., they clear cut land and trees, leaving a scar on the ecosystem surrounding it. Ugh.

http://www.dynamicarchitecture.net/_GREEN.html

The Dynamic Tower was named one of TIME Magazine’s best inventions of 2008.

As a last aside on what….umm….. Architects(?) have planned in Dubai, Brad Pitt has an Eco Friendly Hotel in the works. Yep, I’ll let that sink in for a moment........

I think it is great that he is spreading the word on green design, kudos Mr. Jolie. But after researching The Dynamic Tower, I come across this little nugget, I can't help to snicker. (insert and LOL here)
Now, before all of you ‘Legends of the Fall’ fans go ape on me, I commend Brad for being named Green Design consultant for this project. He will be working with an Architectural firm and according to sources, using his architectural chops. He must know his stuff. He must have passed the LEED exam like Sarah R. O’Keeffe did, but unlike some others I know. You know who you are, and you are nothing like Brad Pitt.

Lou Gehrig's Farewell Speech

Okay, I lied. I was going to write about 'change of use' for buildings this week, but I decided, after watching the news tonight to post Lou Gehrig's farewell speech. Today, July 2, is the anniversary of this speech. On June 2, 1941, Lou Gehrig died of ALS, a disease also known now as Lou Gehrig's disease. In front of more than 62,000 fans, an emotional Lou Gehrig delivered his speech at Yankee Stadium. That day, he not only left a lasting legacy with one of the most moving speeches in sports history, he also didn't leave a dry eye in the house.

Picture AND more information about ALS can be found at: http://www.als.ca/lou_gehrig.aspx?print=1&

So for this week, I leave you with a message of hope. Not the usual Independence Day rally for America, (which we need about now with a 9.5% unemployment rate in the US), but it is just as fitting. How much more American is baseball anyway? Now, go get a slice of Apple Pie and enjoy!

"Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about the bad break I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of this earth. I have been in ballparks for seventeen years and have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans. "Look at these grand men. Which of you wouldn't consider it the highlight of his career just to associate with them for even one day? Sure, I'm lucky. Who wouldn't consider it an honor to have known Jacob Ruppert? Also, the builder of baseball's greatest empire, Ed Barrow? To have spent six years with that wonderful little fellow, Miller Huggins? Then to have spent the next nine years with that outstanding leader, that smart student of psychology, the best manager in baseball today, Joe McCarthy? Sure, I'm lucky.

"When the New York Giants, a team you would give your right arm to beat, and vice versa, sends you a gift - that's something. When everybody down to the groundskeepers and those boys in white coats remember you with trophies - that's something. When you have a wonderful mother-in-law who takes sides with you in squabbles with her own daughter - that's something. When you have a father and a mother who work all their lives so you can have an education and build your body - it's a blessing. When you have a wife who has been a tower of strength and shown more courage than you dreamed existed - that's the finest I know. So I close in saying that I may have had a tough break, but I have an awful lot to live for." - Lou Gehrig


http://www.lougehrig.com/about/speech.htm

Go Celebrate! Celebrate Independence, celebrate friends, family and loved ones. Celebrate you! You deserve it!

Lou Gehrig (1903-1941)

picture from: www.findgrave.com