Gregor Affleck House

The AFFLECK HOUSE, although less than fifty years old, achieves special significance as (1) the work of architect Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959); (2) a representative building type ('home for sloping ground') as derived from Wright's Broadacre City; (3) an outstanding example of Wright's pre-World War II Usonian residential designs; (4) a site for another Usonian House designed by Wright; and (5) a property currently being restored and preserved.

Beginning in the 1920s, Frank Lloyd Wright's argument that modern cities were no longer habitable led him to develop his solution for urban problems, namely, Broadacre City. Although the depression shut down Wright's architectural practice, it did allow him to (1) establish the Taliesin Fellowship in 1932 and (2) experiment with Broadacre City. The Broadacre model, which was completed by the Fellowship in 1934 and exhibited in 1935, was meant as a vision of America itself: a synthesis and integration of urban, rural, and suburban characteristics. It represented Wright's social and economic views, and for the remainder of his life, it was central to his architectural output. With Broadacre City as his philosophical base, Wright launched his second great phase of residential design with the 1936 construction of the first Herbert Jacobs house—the Usonian prototype.

Wright used 'Usonia' as his substitute for the reformed, future 'America' of Broadacre City, and he used the Usonians as his solution to the 'small house problem.' These Usonians—and in particular the pre-World War II designs—were a direct response to the changes in the lifestyles of his clients (families) and their needs for a low-cost, but satisfying dwelling.

In 1940, Mr. and Mrs. Gregor S. Affleck commissioned Wright to design their home. Neither was interested in traditional home styles. Mr. Affleck, a chemical engineer, was familiar with Wright's architecture; born in Chicago, he spent his youth near Spring Green, Wisconsin, the family home of Wright. Mrs. Affleck, as the early renderings of their house indicate, was particularly fond of Fallingwater. The site selected—isolated, densely wooded, with no level ground, and traversed by a small stream leading to a pond—allowed Wright to explore and develop further his 'home for sloping ground.' (Note: the Affleck House model was exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art, November 1940-January 1941.)

The AFFLECK HOUSE, built in 1941 before World War II halted residential construction, is an outstanding example of Wright's continually developing philosophy (decentralization of society, self-sufficiency of the individual, reverence for nature), use of technology, and novel building techniques. Notable Usonian characteristics shared by the Affleck House include the following: concrete floor slab, gravity or radiant heat, unit grid governing the plan, built-in shelves, lighting fixtures, planters, furniture, both built-in and movable, designed by the architect, carport, natural materials, absence of cellar, attic, open plan, bedroom zone attached to the open plan, recessed entry, centralized fireplace, vast expanses of glass, earth tones, wood grains, raised kitchen stack, facade closed to the public.

The AFFLECK HOUSE is unique among the Usonians for several reasons: Wright responded to the unique site with a daring, dramatic design. He raised the multi-level house on masonry piers, nestled it into the ravine, opened it to the sky above and water below, and cantilevered it into the environment. Essentially, he succeeded in integrating his architecture with nature, and his feelings of the individual and family with the design. This interrelationship with its site generates the house's special quality. His recognition of changing lifestyles was successful.

The whole house is a constructional tour-de-force and monument to Harold Turner's (the contractor's) art. The cypress is not so much akin to mill work as to cabinet making, since all the board walls are lapped, the plywood cores are inclined, and the 12 by 1 in. cypress boards are specially milled to chamfer and overlap. The skill required to construct corners and door frames (complete with lapped doors), all with mitered joints and two-way slopes, can be imagined.

The Afflecks were more than satisfied clients, and a decade later they commissioned Wright to design a second house for their adjoining lot. The Pergola House (1952/3), also a Usonian, was similar to Wright's earlier, but unbuilt project for Ralph Jester (1938). (Note: The Jester House model was also exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art.) It is noteworthy that for the Pergola House design, the working drawings were complete.

In 1978, the AFFLECK HOUSE was donated by the Affleck heirs to Lawrence Institute of Technology, Southfield, Michigan. As a condition of the gift, and as its recognition of the extraordinary importance of the house, LIT committed itself to the restoration and preservation of the 'Frank Lloyd Wright house and surrounding grounds to the condition as originally built in 1941.' Although the architect designed many Usonians, only about twenty-five of the pre-World War II houses were built. As a unique, early and intact example of Frank Lloyd Wright's Usonian architecture, the AFFLECK HOUSE merits listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

The AFFLECK HOUSE incorporates many Usonian characteristics, e.g.: The house features lapped board construction, running horizontally to reflect the line of the house. The wood walls were prefabricated with a plywood core and angled. The concrete floor slab rests over hot water pipes which produce the radiant or gravity heat in the floor and up the walls. The 4' x 4' unit grid inscribed in the concrete floor governs the plan and simplifies the construction of the spatially complex house. Typical of Wright's open plan concept, distinct functional areas blend to form a continuously flowing space. The carport replaces the traditional garage. Bookshelves and cabinets are built in; tables, seating units, bed boxes, and chairs are designed by the architect for the house. Recessed, fluorescent lighting is used. The house's natural materials, cantilevered living space, and balconies extend its relationship with the out-of-doors. It is a particularly fine example of Wright's skill in integrating the building with the site to enhance the best qualities of each.