Tales of the Usonian House Trivia Quiz

Answer: Frank Lloyd Wright

Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and first completed in 1937, the Usonian house featured flat roofs with no attic or basement. Built on a stained concrete slab that featured radiant heating, the floors were cut into a grid pattern with lines that aligned with other design elements of the house, such as the placement of the windows. Sources differ on the number of Usonian houses built; one estimated that fewer than sixty Usonian houses were built, while another put the number at a hundred.

Pictured is one of Frank Lloyd Wright's most famous designs, Fallingwater, which was completed in 1937, the same year as his first Usonian house. Built over a waterfall, it was designed to be a weekend home and nature retreat for the Kaufmann family of Pennsylvania. Even though Fallingwater is not a Usonian house, it is easily recognized as a Frank Lloyd Wright masterpiece.

Answer: United States of North America

Apparently the term was first used by writer James Duff Law in 1903. He believed a new word was necessary to replace 'American' when speaking about the United States and excluding Canada and Mexico. The word 'Usona' had been suggested, however, Law preferred 'Usonia'. Some also believe the term was proposed by Europeans who feared there would be confusion with the newly-formed Union of South Africa in 1910 and USA.

Shown in the picture, the Alvin Miller house, which was completed in 1951, is located in Charles City, Iowa.

Answer: Middle Class

Many sources mention that the Usonian house was Frank Lloyd Wright's answer to the Great Depression. Designed to be as economical as possible, buyers purchased a kit, and were encouraged to put the house together themselves! Assembling the materials, however, proved to be more difficult than most could manage. Whereas many of Wright's earlier clients had been wealthy, Usonian houses were built for the middle class.

The house in the picture is called Crimson Beech and is located in the Lighthouse Hill area of Staten Island, New York City. Built in 1959, the front of the house is one story, while the back, built on a sloping site, has two. While the components of the house cost $20,000, the construction cost another $35,000, which may have been an example of a more expensive Usonian house. The Pope-Leighey House in Virginia was constructed at a cost of $7,000, after Wright downsized the square footage. Many times the completed houses were more costly than anticipated; Wright's original estimate in this case was $5,000.

Answer: Prairie School

In some ways the Usonian house is similiar to the Prairie School style; they both have low roofs and the open style living area. Many of the same building materials, such as brick and wood, were used. The Usonian house, however, much smaller and typically only one story, is considered to be the forerunner to the Mid-Century Modern home of the 1950s and '60s, and the ranch-style home of today.

The Darwin D. Martin House, built between 1903 and 1905, is located in Buffalo, New York. Believed to be one of the finest examples of the prairie style of architecture, it was called by Wright "A well-nigh perfect composition".

Answer: Concrete Blocks

In an effort to help home buyers save money, Wright used concrete blocks to form the base for some of the Usonian houses he designed, calling them Usonian Automatic. The blocks could be placed in a variety of patterns, and were easily secured using steel rods and grout. The Usonian house I toured, called the Bachman-Wilson House, was threatened by flooding at its previous location in New Jersey before it was moved to the Crystal Bridges Museum of Art grounds in Bentonville, Arkansas. The entire house was moved, except for the concrete blocks; new ones had already been assembled before the rest of the materials arrived.

In the picture is the Duey and Julia Wright House, located in Wausau, Wisconsin. The couple owned a music store, so the shape of the house from above resembles a musical note!

Answer: Origami Chair

Two types of furniture were placed in a Usonian house: built-ins and freestanding. Although there was no clear cut rule regarding furnishings, examples of built-ins could include sofas, bookshelves, beds, desks, and storage units, while free standing furniture might consist of chairs and tables. Wright constructed Origami Chairs for his home at Taliesin West, and also included them in the design of his Usonian house. Using a variety of geometric shapes, he took cherry plywood, upholstered it, and finished the design with copper foot guards.

The interior picture was taken in the living room of the Rosenbaum House in Florence, Alabama. It is one of only twenty-six Usonian houses built prior to World War II. The chair in the front right is not an armchair, however, it was constructed in the Origami style.

Answer: Alignment with nature and surroundings

Wright thought that it was important to blend the design of the Usonian house with nature. The open design of the interior of the home, and the inclusion of windows in the rear, meant that it was possible to see through the entire house into the back yard upon entry into the home. The placement of the home on the building site and the plants that surrounded it was important to Wright, and many times landscaping designs were included in the overall design layout of the house and property. Wright wanted the house to look like it came "out of the ground and into the light"!

Although some Usonian houses had a second story, it was not considered to be an important characteristic of the home. Wright did not typically install air conditioning in a Usonian house because he believed the materials used for construction would keep temperatures balanced. While a formal dining room was an element of a Prairie School house - Wright envisioned the heart of the home to be the living and dining areas that were made for entertaining - in a Usonian home the space was more practical and less formal.

The Pope-Leighey House in Virginia is a perfect example of a Usonian house that brings the beauty of nature inside the house. Wright frequently sent an apprentice or associate to oversee the construction of the Usonian houses; however, he visited this one himself. Because he believed the house was costing too much (Mr. Pope apparently made $50 a week and had received a loan of $5,700), he did not charge the final payment.

Answer: Fireplace

In this way, a Usonian house was like a Prairie School house; the difference, however, was that in a Prairie School house the fireplace was part of a larger living/dining area that was designed for entertaining large groups. A Usonian home, built on an overall much smaller scale, was meant for small gatherings. A fireplace in a Usonian house was to be used to help heat the house when necessary, not just as a gathering place. In addition, with smaller bedrooms focusing on built-in storage and sleeping, the fireplace provided the family an intimate area to meet, and was the heart of the home.

The fireplace in the picture is from Kentuck Knob in Pennsylvania, which was one of the last homes completed by Frank Lloyd Wright. At the time of its construction, he was eighty-six years old and working on the Guggenheim Museum.

Answer: Carport

Derived from the French "porte-cochère", the term referred to a type of covered shelter. First used by Walter Burley Griffin, a member of the Prairie School, in his designs as early as 1909, a carport became a feature in a Usonian house. The construction of a carport rather than a garage helped save money in the design of a Usonian house. In fact, when building the first Usonian home in 1936, known today as Jacobs I, Wright told the owner "A car is not a horse, and it doesn't need a barn....Cars are built well enough now so that they do not require elaborate shelter."

The only Usonian-style house in California, the George Sturges House was a single-story, small (1200 square feet) house that featured a beautiful deck.

Answer: Workspace

Although it was designed with plenty of storage, the kitchen of a Usonian house was tiny by today's standards. One source claimed that the Usonian kitchen was inspired by a Pullman car; whatever the case, Wright's view of the function of the workspace was much like the function of the bedroom - the bedroom was to be used for sleeping and changing clothes, while the workspace was meant for tasks associated with food preparation.

The workspace of the beautiful Pope-Leighey House in Virginia is featured in the picture. There is barely enough room for one person to turn around!