Prairie School

Prairie school

Group of architects, including Frank Lloyd Wright, who created low-lying “prairie houses” in the U.S. Midwest c. 1900–17. Prairie houses were generally built of brick, wood, and plaster, with stucco walls and bands of casement windows. The Prairie architects emphasized horizontal lines by using low roofs with wide, projecting eaves. They discarded elaborate floor plans and detailing for flowing internal spaces organized around a central fireplace or hearth. The resulting low, spreading structures are characterized by light, crossing volumes and spaces; they reach out to nature, not to other buildings. Other architects working in the style included George Grant Elmslie (1871–1952) and Barry Byrne (1883–1967).

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Prairie School

A highly original group of influential architects in Chicago, closely associated with the early work of Frank Lloyd Wright (1867–1959) and, to a lesser extent, with Louis H. Sullivan (1856–1924) and their followers. The Prairie School was also influenced by the Arts and Crafts Movement in England. Many of the early works created by this school are in the prairie style.