What If?: Mr. Wright & American High School Architecture

If you grew up in the city of Chicago you most likely went to a school that looked like the high school to the left.

If you or your children went to a high school in the suburbs, then those structures most likely look like the high school below.

Now I'm well aware of the fact that Frank Lloyd Wright designed a decent number of educational structures. There's the Hillside School in WI, the Abraham Lincoln Center in Chicago, the Wyoming Valley Grammar School in WI, the Juvenile Cultural Center in KS, the Jiyu Gauken Girls School in Japan and even the Coonley Playhouse in IL. Yet, what if Wright designed an American High School? Would he have influenced the way high schools are built today? How would form and function play out in these structures?

My personal experience was class in a "warehouse" with minimal windows. The entire campus looked like a compound. All I can remember is thinking how nice it would be to graduate and never have to set foot inside that building again.

Don't even get me started on collegiate architecture! (Note: Wright did some interesting things at Florida Southern College).

Comments

[Bill Pardue]

It should be noted, however, that the Prairie School did have a significant impact on Chicago high school design, most significantly by Dwight Heald Perkins. See, for example his Carl Schurz High School and other buildings at http://www.prairiestyles.com/perkins_comm.htm

[erban]

Thanks for the info on Dwight Perkins. We'll have to check out those schools if they are still around.