Eagle Custom Homes and the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation have teamed up to design and build an "organic home" for the HBA of Greater Cincinnati's Homerama 2002. |
Visitors to Homerama 2002 in South Lebanon, Ohio, are in for an organic experience: The focal point of the showcase is an organic home designed by Taliesin Architects, the continuation of the architectural practice started by Frank Lloyd Wright. Eagle Custom Homes and the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation formed a partnership to bring Wright’s and Taliesin’s architectural ideals to the greater Cincinnati audience.
What is an organic home? "Organic architecture to Wright meant, among other things, that you use materials appropriate to the site and site a home so it is appropriate to the lot," says Nick Muller, CEO and president of the foundation. "It also needs to be contemporary to suit the needs of the people living there." In a nutshell, Wright’s ideal was an aesthetic harmony between the natural and built environments - that a home’s shape, scale, colors and materials take cues from its surroundings.
In an effort to increase public awareness of the foundation and the ongoing work of Taliesin Architects, a wholly owned, for-profit subsidiary of the foundation, Muller sought out the Home Builders Association of Greater Cincinnati’s Homerama as the pilot home show for a Wright-inspired organic home. "It’s a great concept, and I would certainly like to see it in other cities," Muller says.
Even at 7,000 square feet, the home remains on a human scale, Taliesin architect Tony Putnam says. He took a horizontal approach to the design, opening it to views of the Little Miami River valley below. Natural materials such as flagstone, copper and wood are used throughout the interior and exterior, and earthy colors complement the surroundings.
"When we started the relationship, I wasn’t sure what to expect," says Doug Feagles, co-founder of Loveland, Ohio-based Eagle Custom Homes. "But they are world-class architects, and they’re very easy to work with."
Eagle broke ground on the project in December 2001. Homerama begins June 8 at Vista Pointe at River’s Bend, a South Lebanon community centered around a Tournament Players Club golf course designed by Arnold Palmer.
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