Organic architecture

Organic architecture
Organic architecture is a philosophy of
architecture which promotes harmony
between human habitation and the natural
world through design approaches so
sympathetic and well integrated with its site,
that buildings, furnishings, and surroundings
become part of a unified, interrelated
composition.

History
The term organic architecture was coined by
Frank Lloyd Wright (18671959), though
never well articulated by his cryptic style of
writing:

Fallingwater by Frank Lloyd Wright

"So here I stand before you

preaching organic architecture: declaring organic architecture to be the modern ideal and the teaching so
much needed if we are to see the whole of life, and to now serve the whole of life, holding no traditions
essential to the great TRADITION. Nor cherishing any preconceived form fixing upon us either past,
present or future, but instead exalting the simple laws of common sense or of super-sense if you prefer
determining form by way of the nature of materials ..."[1]
Organic architecture is also translated into the all inclusive nature of Frank Lloyd Wright's design process. Materials,
motifs, and basic ordering principles continue to repeat themselves throughout the building as a whole. The idea of
organic architecture refers not only to the buildings' literal relationship to the natural surroundings, but how the
buildings' design is carefully thought about as if it were a unified organism. Geometries throughout Wright's
buildings build a central mood and theme. Essentially organic architecture is also the literal design of every element
of a building: From the windows, to the floors, to the individual chairs intended to fill the space. Everything relates
to one another, reflecting the symbiotic ordering systems of nature. (see also Art Organique)
Other modernist architects in the U.S., Europe, and elsewhere held complementary and often competing views of
how architecture could best emulate nature. Key figures in the U.S. included Louis Sullivan and Claude Bragdon,
while among European modernists Hugo Hring and Hans Scharoun stand out. Following World War II, organic
architecture often reflected cybernetic and informatic models of life, as is reflected in the later work of futurist
architect Buckminster Fuller.
Architect and planner David Pearson proposed a list of rules towards the design of organic architecture. These rules
are known as the Gaia Charter for organic architecture and design. It reads:
"Let the design:

be inspired by nature and be sustainable, healthy, conserving, and diverse.

unfold, like an organism, from the seed within.
exist in the "continuous present" and "begin again and again".
follow the flows and be flexible and adaptable.
satisfy social, physical, and spiritual needs.

"grow out of the site" and be unique.

celebrate the spirit of youth, play and surprise.

Organic architecture
express the rhythm of music and the power of dance."[2]
Eric Corey Freed takes a more seminal approach in making his description:
"Using Nature as our basis for design, a building or design must grow, as Nature grows, from the inside
out. Most architects design their buildings as a shell and force their way inside. Nature grows from the
idea of a seed and reaches out to its surroundings. A building thus, is akin to an organism and mirrors
the beauty and complexity of Nature."[3]
A well-known example of organic architecture is Fallingwater, the residence Frank Lloyd Wright designed for the
Kaufman family in rural Pennsylvania. Wright had many choices to locate a home on this large site, but chose to
place the home directly over the waterfall and creek creating a close, yet noisy dialog with the rushing water and the
steep site. The horizontal striations of stone masonry with daring cantilevers of colored beige concrete blend with
native rock outcroppings and the wooded environment.

Notable organic architects

Frank Lloyd Wright (18671959)
Lloyd Wright (Frank Lloyd Wright, Jr.) (1890-1978)
Alvar Aalto

Antoni Gaudi
Hugo Hring
Hans Scharoun
John Lautner
Bruce Goff
Eero Saarinen
Louis Sullivan
Vittorio Giorgini (19252010)
Eric Lloyd Wright (born 1929)
Arthur Dyson
Nari Gandhi
Kendrick Bangs Kellogg (born 1934)
Gustav Stickley
Rudolf Steiner
Hundertwasser
Anton Alberts
Laurie Baker
Claude Bragdon
Douglas Cardinal
Nancy Copley
Neville Gruzman
Imre Makovecz
Javier Senosiain
Ivan Taslimson
Bruno Zevi
Toyo Ito

Organic architecture

References
[1] Frank Lloyd Wright (1954). The Natural House (New York: Bramhall House), p. 3
[2] Pearson, David (2001). The Breaking Wave: New Organic Architecture (Stroud: Gaia), p. 72
[3] Freed, Eric Corey (2007). WHAT IS ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE? (http:/ / www. organicarchitect. com/ organic/ )

Further reading
Aldersey-Williams, Hugh (2003). Zoomorphic: New Animal Architecture (London: Laurence King)
Ferre, Albert, et al., eds (2007). Verb Natures: Architectural Boogazine (Barcelona; New York: Actar)
Feuerstein, Gnther (2002). Biomorphic Architecture: Human and Animal Forms in Architecture (Stuttgart;
London: Axel Menges)
Gans, Deborah, and Zehra Kuz (2003). The Organic Approach to Architecture (New York; Chichester: Wiley)
Kolarevic, Branko (2000). "Digital Morphogenesis and Computational Architectures", in Proceedings of the 4th
Conference of Congreso Iberoamericano de Grafica Digital, SIGRADI 2000 - Construindo (n)o Espao Digital
(Constructing the Digital Space) [ISBN 85-88027-02-X], Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) 2528 September 2000, ed. by
Jos Ripper Ks, Andra Pessoa Borde and Diana Rodriguez Barros, pp.98103 (http://cumincad.scix.net/
data/works/att/4077.content.pdf)
Leach, Neil (2009). "Digital Morphogenesis", Architectural Design, 79, 1, pp.3237
Menges, Achim (2007). "Computational Morphogenesis: Integral Form Generation and Materialization
Processes", in Proceedigns of Em'body'ing Virtual Architecture: The Third International Conference of the Arab
Society for Computer Aided Architectural Design (ASCAAD 2007), 2830 November 2007, Alexandria, Egypt,
ed. by Ahmad Okeil, Aghlab Al-Attili and Zaki Mallasi, pp.725744 (http://www.ascaad.org/conference/
2007/057.PDF)
Menges, Achim (2006). "Polymorphism", Architectural Design, 76, 2, pp.7887
O'Reilly, Una-May and Martin Hemberg (2007). "Integrating Generative Growth and Evolutionary Computation
for Form Exploration", Genetic Programming and Evolvable Machines, 8, 2, pp.163186
Pearson, David (2001). The Breaking Wave: New Organic Architecture (Stroud: Gaia)
Portoghesi, Paolo (2000). Nature and Architecture, trans. by Erika G. Young (London; Milan: Skira Editore;
Thames & Hudson)
Roudavski, Stanislav (2009). "Towards Morphogenesis in Architecture", International Journal of Architectural
Computing, 7, 3, pp.345374 (http://www.academia.edu/208933/Towards_Morphogenesis_in_Architecture)
Steadman, Philip (2008). The Evolution of Designs: Biological Analogy in Architecture and the Applied Arts
(New York: Routledge)
Senosiain, Javier (2003). Bio-architecture (Oxford, England: Architectural Press)
Tsui, Eugene (1999). Evolutionary Architecture: Nature as a Basis for Design (New York: John Wiley)

External links
Rudolf Steiner, translated by Harry Collison (1914, published 1927). "Ways to a New Style in Architecture"
(http://wn.rsarchive.org/Architecture/GA286/English/APC1927/WA1927_index.html). Rudolf Steiner
Archive. Retrieved February 14, 2011.

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