The Integrated Landscape

The Integrated Landscape. Martin House . Frank Lloyd Wright, Architect. , In Organic Architecture then, it is quite impossible to consider the building as one thing, its furnishings another and its setting and environment still another. The Spirit in which these buildings are conceived sees all these together at work as one thing. , - Frank Lloyd Wright, 1910, The Martin House represents Wright's principle of organic architecture promoting harmony between the built environment and nature., Located in the heart of the historic community of Parkside, the site integrates six buildings within a verdant residential landscape. Wright conceived of the plan in collaboration with Walter Burley Griffin, who served as office superintendent and landscape architect in Wright's Oak Park studio. The grounds also reflect the passion for gardening that Darwin and his wife Isabelle shared., The Martin House's thoughtfully detailed landscape is distinguished for its expansive outdoor rooms and individual garden spaces. The highlight is a striking feature known as the floricycle , a colorful blooming arc of sequential plantings that creates a soft, natural screen between the home and the adjacent streetscape., [Far lower right photo caption reads] Floricycle viewed from south, 1923, Floricycle , The floricycle surrounds the Martin House verandah as a half-circle of flowers, shrubs, and trees. Imaginative in its plan, it is specifically designed to be beautiful in all four seasons. Plants were selected for their colors, heights, and bloom times., [Illustration caption reads] Plan of floral arrangement (Floricycle), 1906, Life in the Garden , The Martin House reflects a fundamental shift in American residential landscape design. At the time it was built, there was a substantial rise in the development of home gardens, advances in horticulture, and a new appreciation for garden aesthetics., Darwin and Isabelle Martin held a fondness for their favorite pastime, gardening. It is apparent in the careful attention given to the Martin House landscape, which they cared for intently for thirty years. The couple spent endless hours enjoying life in their garden., [Photo captions, top and bottom, read] , . Isabelle Martin and companion in the Martin House garden with the greenhouse and the east side of Gardener's Cottage in view, c.1914, . Darwin D. Martin escorting daughter Dorothy at her wedding in the Martin House garden, 1923