Student Writing Samples

Avendafio-Garro, Kenia. Rivera and Corridos: Teachers of the Mexican Revolution. MU11/HS117
Lyon, G. E. Community Visual Identity for The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation Art Center. AR104
Weiner, Tamara.Alexander Calder's "Hollow Egg". AR221
Wickham, Russell Channing. Usonian: One Man's Solution to Economical Housing. AR210

Avendafio-Garro, Kenia. Rivera and Corridos: Teachers of the Mexican Revolution. MU11/HS117(top)
What is Mexico? This was the question running through the minds of almost all the peoples of Mexico at the opening of the twentieth century. According to Meyer and Beezley's Oxford History of Mexico, by 1900, 90 percent of Mexico's industry was monopolized by foreign businesses and about 30 percent of Mexico's land was trapped in foreign hands (436). It is thus no surprise that the Mexican populace yearned and struggled to establish their true identity-their Mexicanidad-ironically in their own country. Utilizing the Mexican Revolution of 1910 as their classroom, some believed that they not only had the right, but also the responsibility to become teachers of a cultural distinctiveness. Musicians and painters alike took it upon themselves to fashion the ideal textbooks of Mexico's indigenous past, its turbulent present, and its promising future in order to "educate" the largely illiterate Mexican masses.

Music was an extremely important part of the early Mexican Indians' culture and life. They used it to teach the children of their rich history and preserve their native traditions. In fact, Reilly and Jermyn emphasize that the Mexican Indians believed that music was the key to keeping the world in motion (96), even in times of chaos. The Mexican Revolution of 1910 was the most chaotic and bloody revolution in Mexican history. According to statistics in Miller's Mexico, A History, one million out of a population of 15 million died in the span of a mere ten years (293). Endless battles smeared blood across the country, government policies were thrown into complete disarray, countless bandits purged cities and towns, and civilians were utterly confused to which side they belonged. Whether they liked it or not, everyone in Mexico was absorbed into the mess of war, whether it was through their fight for freedom, their need for identity, or their desire to escape conflict. In tumultuous and bewildering times, the music of the corridos, or Mexican folk songs, was essential to ensure the continuation oflife for the common people of Mexico. Guillermo E. Hernandez, an expert on corridos and Latin American popular culture, defines the corrido simply as "A narrative song composed in Spanish that recounts the historical circumstances surrounding a protagonist whose conduct serves as a model to a community in the U.S. or Mexico" (qtd. in Nicolopulos 115). However, especially for the common people of Mexico living during the Revolution period, corridos were more than that. Their anonymity made them genuine "expressions of the heart" (Summers), written by the people for the people. They were vessels that carried stories that the war-tom Mexicans wanted to hear: valuable news to those who could not read, light-hearted entertainment to those who could not smile, and nationalistic spirit to those who could not fight.

A common Revolutionary saying was, "[pancho] Villa was hated by thousands but beloved by millions" (Miller 309). Throughout the Revolution, North Division commander Francisco "Pancho" Villa's charismatic bravery and innovative tactics inspired immense loyalty and even idolatry from a large portion of the Mexican population. His slogan of" Tierra y Libertad! [Land and Liberty]" (qtd. in Miller 292) promised the impoverished masses what they most desired and characterized him as a hero in a heroic age. In other words, he was the perfect protagonist for popular corridos. The song "Corrido de Durango" implements a mixture of fact and fiction that invokes a larger than life image of Villa, reflecting how he was thought of in the eyes of those he fought for. Its characteristic narrative opening and ending make the corrido sound like a story, which makes it easy to sing and easy to follow. However, while most corridos begin with a specific date and time of the occurrence, this one only reveals the setting: "In Durango he started. . ." Other than Villa's political support for Pancho 1. Madero, there is actually very little specific information throughout the song, making it seem even more like a mythical story. Villa's statement in the song, "I don't know the meaning of fear" portrays him as a modem Hercules and a hero for the people who would face any obstacle to fight for his country, or at least the side he stood for. Although his "career as a bandit" may give him a negative reputation, during the Revolution, a bandit had a positive connotation for the Mexican revolutionaries and townspeople. Bandits could plunder towns and bring destruction, but they could also be symbols of defiance, freedom, and hope, which were important values during a time of restriction, chaos, and despair. According to the article "Pancho Villa: A Life in Corridos", the Mexican peoples were eager to hear of Pancho Villa's exploits throughout the Revolution (Sullivan). Therefore, the corridos he starred in were certainly the essence of Mexican nationalism, giving many of the poor a reason for celebration, determination, and pride.

The artwork that appeared around the time of the Mexican Revolution was just as much a visual ballad as the corridos were an audio one. It incorporated valiant heroes and malicious villains, glorified myths and terrible truths, shattered hopes and uplifting dreams. Then it unfurled itself out on the walls of public buildings, hospitals, and schools to teach the Mexican world-and the whole world-what Mexico was, is, and will be. One ofthe most influential artists ofthe time was Diego Rivera. He, along with Jose Clemente Orozco and David Siqueiros, were the founders of the artistic movement called, perhaps somewhat pompously, the Mexican Renaissance. Rivera, however, was different from his painter colleagues. As Rivera expert Pete Hamill indicates, when the Revolution broke out, Siqueiros gave up painting and joined the Constitutionalist Army, Orozco served as a field artist and walked among death, but Diego Rivera went to Paris (44). In other words, Rivera's life was as chaotic and contradicting as the Revolution itself. Although he was a painter of Mexican Revolution art, he was a communist during a revolution where communism had little relevance, and he was not even in Mexico during the bloodiest years of conflict. He claimed to endorse the Revolution sentiment and support the common man, but, arguably, Rivera worked for a primarily personal gain. Though he often had little money in his pockets, he was a huge man with a huge ego. Unlike the authors of corridos, Diego Rivera was not "the people", but rather, he was above the people. He was a divine professor who painted to instruct rather than to relate and to give rather than to share.

Yet, for some reason, Diego Rivera was one of the most influential artists of his time and his art has become a characteristic symbol of the Mexican Revolution. Former director of the Museum of Latin American Art, Gregorio Luke even goes as far as to say, "When people close their eyes and think of Mexico, most of the time, they imagine a world similar to that described by Diego Rivera in his paintings." One reason for this is that, despite his complex background and arrogant personality, Rivera had indisputable skill as a painter. In such works as "Dance in Tehuantepec", his vibrant colors and socio¬ cultural themes bring his paintings to life and have the power to captivate an audience, both Mexican and foreign. In the painting "Agrarian Leader Zapata", the traditional clothing, peasant tools, and gallant, white horse portrays the Revolution leader as a respected persona of the people. The children in such murals as "Ribbon Dance" are active and plump while in reality they were often sick and starving. Each work forcefully struggles to portray an image of an ideal Mexico full of energy, tradition, and strength during a time when the real Mexico remained flooded in confusion, poverty, and death. Also, the fact that Rivera started painting his famous murals of the Mexican Revolution three years after it ended is significant. By this time, the people's memory of it did not change, but their thoughts and ideas of it did. Those of authority, especially, manipulated the nationalistic and agrarian principles of the Revolution in order to better the peasantry and unite the country under a single "Mexican" identity. Rivera's main employer, Jose Vasconcelos, was himself an ambitious man full of contradictions. He was a racist and a mystic and yet he wished to thrust Mexico into a new age of modernity. According to Pete Hamill, "Vasconcelos would teach Mexico to read. He would give it great art. He would restore its vanished cultural grandeur. He would create, in short, a Mexican renaissance" (81). Through art, both Vasconcelos and Rivera believed that they could sketch a distinctiveness for the people, paint a utopia for the future, and thus create a ITesh heroic image for the country that they could boast to the world. Once the last coat of paint had dried, not only was Mexico given an identity, but its Revolution was also given a new outlook.

Although corridos came ITom below and murals came ITom above, they both met in the middle as a form of Mexican Revolution propaganda. Were they entirely factual? Not at all. Were they objective? Of course not. On the contrary, events were highly exaggerated, figures were gloriously ornamented, and history was reenacted to gain public support. The purpose of the Mexican music and artwork that began to appear during the early 1900s was to idealize the Revolution, perhaps even simplify it, in order to focus the Mexican people's minds on the future they needed to define for themselves and for their country.

Cited Sources
- "Artist Diego Rivera." 15 July 1999. Webcast The News Hour with Jim Lehrer. Prod. Jim Lehrer. PBS. KQED, San Francisco. Accessed on 06 February 2009. <http://www.pbs.org/newshourlbb/ entertainmentljuly-dec99/rivera _7 -15 .html> .
- "Diego Rivera." The Diego Rivera Mural Proiect 2004. City College of San Francisco. 06 Feb. 2009. <http://www.riveramural.com/article.asp?section=mural&key=999&language=english> .
- Duiker, William J. and Jackson J. Spielvogel. World History. Vol. IT: Since 1500. Wadsworth, 2003. Hamill, Pete. Diego Rivera. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1999. .
- Los Durados de Durango. "Corrido de Durango." The Francisco Villa Cycle. Arhoolie Records, 1965.
- Meyer, Michael C. and William H. Beezley. The Oxford History of Mexico. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000 .
- Miller, Robert Ryal. Mexico, A History. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1985.
- Nicolopulos, James, "The Heroic Corrido: A Premature Obituary?" Aztlan, Vol. 22, Issue 1, 1997, 115¬ 138 .
- Reilly, Mary Jo and Leslie Jermyn. Cultures of the World: Mexico. New York: Benchmark Books, 1990.
- Rivera, Diego. Agrarian Leader Zapata. 1931. Museum of Modern Art, New York. 15 Feb. 2009. <http://www.emersonkentcom/history_notes/emiliano_zapata.htm>.
- Rivera, Diego. Dance in Tehuantepec. 1928. Personal collection, New York. Diego Rivera. By Pete Hamill. New York: HarryN. Abrams, 1999.95 .
- Rivera, Diego. Ribbon Dance. 1923-24. Court of the Fiestas, Ministry of Education, Mexico City. Diego Rivera. By Pete Hamill. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1999. 112 .
- Sullivan, W. "Pancho Villa: A Life in Corridos." Corridos of the Mexican Revolution: Folk Songs and the Popular Creation of a Mexican Identity. February 6, 2009. <http://special.trincoll.edu/~wsulliva/ Defaulthtm>.
Lyon, G. E. Community Visual Identity for The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation Art Center. AR104 (top)
A Problem of Space
A few years from now The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation Art Center (hereafter denoted CF) will have vanished from public view. This unfortunate disappearance has begun. CF is flanked on its western, Georgia Avenue, side by the Health Sciences Center, HC. From the northwest, a rapidly rising Cultural Arts Building blocks viewing from East-West Highway, and to some extent, Burlington Avenue to the north. An anticipated West Campus .Garage will occlude CF's eastern flank along the Metro tracks. Finally, trees in Jesup Blair obscure southern views of CF. For a center of visual arts, this vanishing presence could be a disconcerting loss. The main objective of this proposal is to restore a vital campus visual identity to CF and its programs.

The CF will be hidden and visually lost to passersby even though it is physically open and accessible. However, a second part element-actually the most important-is air space above CF and its adjacent courts and walkways. Sky is and likely will remain an open avenue of projection. To this end, consider a needle-thin tower or spire rising 150 feet. This height is well above surrounding buildings and trees. A clock will adorn the top of the needle spire to signal the CF location. It is intended that with time, it will become known to the community as the "Art Center Clock". The spire will be thin and delicate. It will be rather unlike traditional clock towers. In this respect it will be very much consonant with the modem architectural motifs ofCF and the box-like, somewhat uninspiring He.

The general location of the spire is the courtyard between CF and He. Several spots are workable, although only one is shown in this proposal. There are several accompanying photographs of the courtyard, which is a pleasant semi-open space. One objective of this proposed work is to intrude as little as possible upon pleasantness of the courtyard. The spire has no more footprint than a large flagpole.

Spire with Clock
Towers and their clocks long have been used to give time while advertising locations. Examples include the Great Clock in London's Palace of Westminster ("Big Ben"), Savior's Tower Clock in the Kremlin (face diameter is 6.2m) and the Boston Quincy Market Clock Tower.

Appearance, Design. Design of the tower clock face draws upon modem railway clock practice for easy reading and yet somewhat resembles practices from two centuries ago. Unlike many medievalclocks, this one has two hands and is illuminated from behind. There are three faces, each 5 feet in diameter. ** Because the support spire is only a foot in diameter at the top, the structure resembles a giant artist's tool for shaping clay or working wood. Seen in such a light, the proposal is a giant sculpture that may remind students coming and going what transpires inside CF. The spire could be painted black or charcoal to match handles on common sculpting and painting tools.

Clock Element. The clock mechanism can be obtained commercially from a number of companies. These are often electric, with GPS-time synchronization to assure accurate performance and reliability. The clock housing should be light but weather resistant. Aluminum is a good choice. The faces are frosted white and should be shatter resistant. Uniform illumination of the three faces is electrical via banks of LEDs.

Installation. The spire of the tower clock is the same as one for celluar phone service or microwave relays in telephony. Called a monopole, this steel structure is 177 feet long and weighs 7 tons. The monopole is inserted into a 27 foot bore hole drilled by a 5 foot auger. Once inserted, the remaining space is filled with aggregate (concrete is not necessary). It will withstand 120 mph winds and tolerate them briefly to 140 mph. The actual footprint at ground level is a 37 inch diameter circle. Cross¬section of the pole is not truly circular-it is an eighteen sided polygon. Needless to say, this work is a permanent installation.

Cost. The heavy duty monopole costs $28,000 plus approximaty $2000 shipping. Clock components would likely be less, but some custom fabrication is necessary. Legal fees would also have to be paid to gain local approvals (Montgomery County is apparently very open to monopoles up to 150 feet tall). A guess budget would $100,000 plus or minus $20,000 .

Anticipated Problem. A high monopole is commercially very valuable. MC administrators would soon receive offers from cellular service vendors to rent antenna space on the pole. This would be an aesthetic abomination. Unfortunately, such rentals in a high density area could return enough to fund another junior faculty member (although not full-time), so the offers would be hard to refuse.
Weiner, Tamara. Alexander Calder's "Hollow Egg". AR221 (top)
I was immediately attracted to Alexander Calder's "Hollow Egg" (1939) during a recent trip to the Phillips Collection in Washington, DC. The sculpture made me feel weightless, as if I were floating or flying, which automatically made me think of freedom. This can be partially attributed to the materials, metal wire and paint, but at the heart of the viewer's experience is the Collection's decision to place Hollow Egg in a corner of an L-shaped stairwell showcases. This puts the piece in direct view of anyone ascending or descending the stairs and showcases its best qualities, thereby making it more than the sum of its parts and enhancing the viewer's experience in the process.

As a petite woman who loves to get dirty and play with power tools, I have a special appreciation for art that is both delicate and fragile in appearance, yet sturdy and solid in composition. I was especially drawn to Hollow Egg because of the light, airy quality that it possesses, despite obvious structural integrity and strength, and the sense of weightless floating that I felt while viewing it. Calder seems to have mastered the art of contradiction in Hollow Egg with both his choice of color (black and white) and in the way he shaped the material. The piece, which almost appears human in form, except for its tripod base (in and of itself a contradiction), is comprised of criss-crossing metal that seems random until closer inspection reveals that the construction is really quite exact. Ironically, it is this very precision that contributes most to the piece's sense of chaos and the feeling of freedom that I felt in its presence.

The location of Hollow Egg within the Phillips Collection is key to why I found it so compelling. The piece, which measures 54 x 39 x 38 1/8 inches, sits in the corner on the landing in the stairwell. Bathed in light from above, the piece casts a shadow on both walls behind it, which echoes the positive and negative shapes made by the intersections of wire and provides yet another dimension to this three dimensional sculpture. As one moves around the sculpture, the shadows move, too, bringing the piece to life and at times looming over both art and viewer.

Perhaps the real magic, however, is in Hollow Egg's placement in a stairwell. In walking up the stairs, the viewer is first below the sculpture, then at eye-level with it and finally above the piece, offering an ever-changing perspective on both the sculpture itself and its shadow. It is likely that appreciating the piece from varying heights had a significant impact on my emotional response to it, as it is hard not to feel, as you ascend or descend on the stairs, as if you're defying gravity somehow. This unearthly experience is what contributed most to the feeling of freedom and my appreciation for Calder's Hollow Egg.
Wickham, Russell Channing. Usonian: One Man's Solution to Economical Housing. AR210 (top)
From the moment man first set foot on earth, the need for housing or shelter has been a constant struggle. This struggle has gone through many different stages throughout history. It first started with the hardship of building, caused by a lack of knowledge and equipment, to the current problem of cost. With the discovery of new materials and the invention of new tools and equipment, building became easier, but the cost still remained high. Like architects before him, Frank Lloyd Wright also faced the issue of high costs in building throughout his career. During the 1930s and 40s, the American lifestyle was shifting, and because of the Great Depression, economical housing was in demand. This was a great challenge to Wright. To combat the issue of building cost in the later years of his career, Wright developed a tone down geometric version of his Prairie Style houses, called the Usonian Module. It was designed to meet the challenges of "life in the United States of North America" (Lind 104) for struggling families, but as time passed, it became much more than that. It became a model that would influence the designing of economical housing in the future.

The concept was part of a bigger design which Wright called Broadacre City. This was also Wright's first attempt at urban planning. He believed that the Usonian city would be suitable for people with big dreams, but limited finances. Although the Usonian Module was developed for middle to low income families, Wright did use his Usonian Module concept for bigger, more costly commissions. It was in some of the bigger commissions that one could see Wright's Prairie style influence on his Usonian homes. An example of this was the Zimmerman House, in which parts of the house such as the shape and roof design resembled the Robie House; however, because of their functional aspects and modular designs, bigger commissions like the Zimmerman House did not differ much when compared to their lower budget siblings.

The function of the Usonian Module was to provide Middle America and low-income families an affordable home without compromising beauty. Carla Lind, who is author and former executive director of the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy (EW.com), writes that these houses were also designed to respond to the shift tn society (Carla Lind 104). An example of this shift was the reduction of servants in many American homes. As a result, Wright began designing houses without servants' quarters. Wright also designed the Usonian homes for the changing functions of American families, which were becoming more informal. Also, because of the reduction of servants, more burdens were placed on housewives. This created new needs and requirements for women in American homes. One requirement was better organized kitchens arranged for women. He answered these needs by designing modules with large to modest sized living areas, and centralized kitchens that would open up to dining areas at the center of the house, "which Wright called the workspace" (Lind 110), or as Dell Upton wrote, "Wright moved the kitchen to a location at the intersection of the public and private spaces, creating a command post" (Upton 43). Jackie Craven, a published writer who specializes in architecture, writes that another function of a Usonian home was the use of built-in conveniences, and space saving essentials such as furnishings and built-in pantries/cabinets (About.com). The pantries were also designed with folding doors that are used in modern houses. Wright also built dressers into the walls to save space.

During the Usonian period, homes were also designed with the function of maximizing different energies efficiently, and to reduce energy costs, such as heating, for homeowners. An example of this was the Cherokee red concrete floor with heated water pipes submerged in the floor that served as the foundation and heating system. Wright would often use this system instead of costly, insufficient, cast iron radiators. The warm water pipes caused heat to rise from the floor, which would warm the homeowners by keeping his or her feet warm during the winter. Along with the heated floors, he also placed large fireplaces at the center of the house. By doing this, it would influence the family to migrate around one area instead of being spread out around the house. Wright also used many large windows to allow heat from sunlight to warm the house. By using these three functions, it reduced the need for multiple heating devices or a fireplace in every room, which cost more to build and use.

Along with the functional goal of reducing energy costs, Wright designed his Usonian Module to reduce the cost of building. He attempted this by making parts of the construction process more efficient. He would use less expensive materials that were abundant and durable, such as brick and concrete. Wright would also use wood from Cypress trees on the outside walls, as on the Pope-Leighey House, because Cypress wood is naturally resistant to water and is very durable when exposed to the elements. Wright also attempted to reduce building costs by find ways to decrease the need for skilled craftsman. Carla Lind writes that Wright would also have clients participate in the building process, as he did at the Lovness Studio in Stillwater, Minnesota (144). By having the clients participate, the labor costs would decrease, because it would lower the number of paid laborers at the build-site. Although most homeowners today would not consider the idea of being a member of the construction team, because of Wright's simple Usonian design, it was possible for a homeowner to participate.

The Usonian Module design was based on simple shapes, such as the square, rectangle, hexagon, triangle and semi-circle. In 1936, Frank Lloyd Wright built his first Usonian home in Wisconsin for Herbert Jacobs, which formed an L-shape by using two rectangular modules. Paul Sprague, a Professor Emeritus of Architecture of the University of Wisconsin writes, liThe house was quite out of the ordinary for the period. Wright refused to follow the historic styles and insisted upon making it stylistically his own" (United States Department of the Interior, National Park Services which he described as organic architecture. The "final cost of the house was estimated to be about $6,000 dollars" (United States Department of the Interior, National Park Services).

Wright also used the rectangular, L-shaped module for the Rosenbaum commission in 1939 for $12,000 dollars, and Pope-Leighey commission in 1941 for an estimated $7,000 dollars. All three Qf these houses have many similarities, such as low pitched roofs and small celestial windows on the street side of the house to provide privacy for the family. The inner courtyard side of each house had multiple large glass windows which open the house to surrounding nature. Wright believed that homeowners should enjoy the surrounding environment and should not be separated by an opaque door or wall. He also believed that the house and nature should be one.

As Wright's design style shifted to the Usonian Module, his use of decorative art-glass or stain glass decreased. Instead of using decorative art-glass -- which could be costly to design, make, and replace if broken -- Wright started using decorative wooden shutters with different designs cut out on the exterior of some windows. He also used wooden coverings, which were like interior shutters with different designs cut out, over the celestial windows and ceiling lights. The decorative coverings would provide homeowners like the Popes, who had limited finances, a form of inexpensive art by using light and shade. Light would shine through the shapes or design cutout of the shutter and appear on the wall. The rest of the wall would be covered by shadow that was created by the rest of the covering. As the day progressed, the shapes that were created by light would change positions, allowing the house to become the canvas.

Along with the use of light, Wright used the interior walls to contribute to the artistic styling of the house. He would use a method called board-and-batten to construct his durable wooden walls. This was the preferred method for the interior and exterior walls for his smaller lower commissioned Usonian homes for multiple reasons. One reason was because it was structurally strong and reduced water leaks. Dell Upton, a Professor of Architectural History at the University of California, Berkeley, also noted that some panels were prefabricated with insulation between the inner and outer sheathing ( Upton 42). Furthermore, panels made by Cypress wood would also need less maintenance, thus reducing the maintenance costs of the house. Another reason was it created long horizontal lines that would give an elongated appearance to each room, making each room appear more spacious.

The concept of Broadacre City was not Wright's only community planning design. Carla Lind writes that in 1947, Wright was commissioned to build several residential subdivisions in Kalamazoo, Michigan (Wright Style 143). It was here where Wright used a square Usonian Module design for the Brown House. To reduce the building costs, Wright used concrete in cast blocks, which was economical and vastly available during that time period. Wright also reduced energy costs by facing the bedrooms toward the southwest to use the sun's energy to warm the rooms. Like all of Wright's houses, the Brown House came with a lavish fireplace. However, because of the climate, Wright designed the Brown House with a larger opening for more firewood.

Wright did not just stop at rectangular and square shapes in his Usonian homes commissions. He also used the hexagon shape in a few of his bigger commissions, such as the 1936 Hanna House commission in Palo Alto, California, and the Auldbrass House in Yemassee, South Carolina. With the construction of these houses, Wright again was faced with the issue of cost. However, it was not because of materials and labor. It was because of his artistic demands and need to put his impression on the architecture; he would not bend or give on the artistry of his designs. This would often cost him large amounts of money, which he would absorb because the job would exceed the agreed amount.

Not all the houses that Wright designed in his Usonian period are of a complete Usonian design. An example of this is the Zimmerman House, which was one of Wright's larger commissions. The house was bigger in size and cost, and it was more extravagant when compared to other Usonian houses. This was because the owners spared no expense which could explain some features from Wright's Prairie Style homes, such as the roof. When compared to the Pope-Leighey House's flat roof, one finds that the Zimmerman House roof slopes, which was found more on Wright's Prairie Style designs. Carla Lind writes that the Zimmerman House is both Prairie and Usonian. She writes, "While considered a Usonian design because of it chronological age and construction style, the Zimmerman house, built in Manchester, New Hampshire, in 1950, recalls Wright's earlier Prairie Style period as well. Its concept was economical, but the execution was more extravagant because of the selection of materials and the owner's demand for first-class craftsmanship" (Carla Lind 117).

Although building has become easier, the issue of cost remains. Many great architects have tried to conquer this issue. Frank Lloyd Wright was one of these great architects, and because of him, architects of the future have great ideas to build off. Wright tried many different things to make housing affordable, such as centralized fireplaces combined with heated floors, cutting the need of skilled craftsman, and using materials that were abundant and durable. However, not all of Wright's Usonian accomplished the goal of economical housing because they were completed over budget. In the end, the Usonian house did what it was designed to do; to meet the challenges and hardships of life in the United States. Wright's work will always be debated, admired, and be an influence on architecture for many years to come. In closing, Wright's Usonian homes show that beauty does not have to be compromised, such as with the Pope-Leighey House, even when economical housing is the goal.

Cited Sources
- Craven, Jackie. "The Isadore and Lucile Zimmerman Home by Frank Lloyd Wright." About.com. 2 Dec. 2008 <http./architecture.a bout.com/ od/frankllovdwright/ss/flzimmerman 9.htm>.
- Lind, Carla. The Wright Style: Recreating the Spirit of Frank Llovd Wright. Simon & Schuster. New York. 1992. 105-118, 139, 143-144.
- Sprague, Paul. "Jacobs, Herbert and Katherine, First House." 1 Dec. 2008. United States Department of the Interior, National Park Services. 12 July, 2001. < http://www.nps.gov/n hi/designations/sam ples/wi/Ja cobsl-FI NAL.pdf>.
- "The Wright Style: Recreating the Spirit of Frank Lloyd Wright, Book Review." EW.com. 1992. 2 Dec. 2008.

Student Writings in the Disciplines

Student Writing Samples