Build your own Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired Usonian home

Crafted with simplicity, beauty, and affordability in mind, as well as efficient construction, mass production capabilities, and customisation for each homeowner’s unique needs, Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation President and CEO Stuart Graff believes Lindal’s Imagine Series “captures the timeless spirit of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Usonian designs, while ensuring the homes are well equipped to meet the demands of today’s world.”

Don't miss: Home tour: A lush home in Kuala Lumpur filled with art and design objects

“I wanted to do something prefab, along the lines of the family company,” Trina Lindal, whose architectural master’s thesis at the School of Architecture at Taliesin inspired the Imagine Series, told Upstate House.

The third-generation member of the Lindal family continues: “There’s a connection to nature in Usonian homes–the ability to use the outdoors as part of daily living–that is in line with what people want now.”

The Imagine Series homes are constructed with premium Western red cedar, with flexible floor plans ranging from 780 to 2,850 sq ft, subtly updated to meet contemporary living standards while retaining the essence of Wright’s principles.

For example, kitchens in the bygone Usonian homes were very small, and Lindal’s Imagine Series “brings the kitchen out to the living spaces, and opens them up more [for modern-day communal gatherings],” Christina Lindal, executive vice president of Lindal Cedar Homes, told Upstate House.

Read more: Here’s a rare opportunity to own 2 Frank Lloyd Wright-designed homes in Michigan

Besides that, Wright’s designs sometimes lacked main-floor bathrooms, but Lindal adds that “the new designs allow ageing in place, with a ground-floor powder room and a room that could be a master bedroom, when you don’t want to do the stairs anymore.” 

From the three-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath Crystal Springs design based on Wright’s Bachman-Wilson house, to the 1,256-sq-ft Mirror Lake model inspired by the architect’s final Usonian design, the Seth Peterson cottage in Wisconsin; the Imagine Series also includes the Highland Park model, an original one-bedroom, one-bathroom Usonian design by Lindal.

See also: Home tour: A grounded home in Perth inspired by the modernism greats

In keeping with the original Usonian intent, the prefabricated Imagine Series home kits come with a relatively accessible price tag of US$300,000. This includes the low-slung post-and-beam structure, exterior siding, doors, and windows. 

While additional costs for construction, energy-efficient interior finishes and HVAC systems, and landscaping will apply, the series provides a unique opportunity to own an architecturally stunning home inspired by one of America’s greatest visionaries.

Don't miss: A Hollywood film producer couple’s venture into beautiful sustainable builds

“We wanted to modernise the homes while remaining respectful of Frank Lloyd Wright’s underlying principles,” explained co-designer Aris Georges to the New York Post.

The Wisconsin architect and former faculty member at Taliesin adds: “In a Usonian home, the walls are independent elements around which space flows like water around a boulder, not like confining boxes. Walking through the house should be like taking a walk in the forest.”

NOW READ

Home tour: A modern light-filled home in the San Francisco Bay Area

Spend a night in Philip Johnson’s mid-century modern Wolfhouse

Home tour: A compact Kuala Lumpur penthouse with mid-century aesthetics