Organic Design: Nature and Home in Harmony

Organic Design: Nature and Home in Harmony

by Frank Lloyd Wright House at Ebsworth Park

Exhibition Dates: Through January 12, 2023

Location: Post-Security, near gates E34 and 36

Nestled in grassy fields on 10.5 acres in Kirkwood, Missouri, the Frank Lloyd Wright House in Ebsworth Park (Kraus House) is a unique and significant residence designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, widely recognized as the greatest American architect of the 20th century. The 1,900-square-foot residence designed for Russell and Ruth Kraus in 1961 was the architect’s first building in the St. Louis region and is one of only five Wright designs in Missouri. It is an excellent example of Wright’s democratic vision, intended to provide middle-class Americans with beautiful architecture at an affordable cost.

With a floorplan consisting of overlapping parallelograms, the FLWHEP is consisted one of Wright’s most complex Usonian designs. It was purchased from the Krauses in turned into a house museum in 2001, and attracts thousands of visitors from all over the world who marvel at the geometry, stained-glass and original Wright designed furnishings.

This is a full-size replica of the “light screens” as they appear looking out from the house to the “prow” of the terrace. The stained-glass design was created by Russell Kraus who wanted the design to reflect the geometries of the house and the color palate to compliment the earth tones of the natural environment. This is all in keeping with Wright’s philosophy of a naturally integrated approach, or “organic architecture” as he referred to it.