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Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahoney

“I am what may be termed a naturalist in architecture... I believe in architecture that is the logical outgrowth of the environment in which the building in mind is to be located" -Walter Burley Griffin (p.138)

(left) Figure 12. J.G. Melson House design by Griffin, and rendering by Marion Mahoney, foreshadowed Wright’s Fallingwater (Brooks, 1996, p.245).

(right) Figure 13. Melson House of 1912 by Walter Burley Griffin (Kruty, P. & Maldre, M.,1996, cover sleeve).

Walter Burley Griffin, who referred to himself as a landscape architect, created highly original forms. Viewing the site and the relationship of building to site to be as important as the building itself, Griffin took his Prairie ideals beyond floorplans and facades to concern himself with development, town planning, and landscape design. Marion Mahoney, the first woman to earn a B.S. in Architecture from M.I.T., met Griffin in Wright’s studio where she designed furniture and details for interiors.

Figure 14. Rule House of 1912-13 by Griffin is closely related to Wright’s “fireproof” scheme. The extended corner piers house bookcases and cupboards on the interior.

Griffin attempted to find an ecological “balance with nature” for his buildings. Initially influenced by Sullivan and Wright, Griffin and Mahoney went on to develop a personal style which emphasized visual stability. Griffin’s landscaping and Mahoney’s decorative detailing also added greatly to the distinctiveness of their style. He used cast concrete and looked to Native American sources (Johnson, 1977). His houses stressed the horizontal low profile seen in most of the Prairie School, while Griffin experimented in his interiors by articulating spaces vertically, “half-stepping” living areas, thus pioneering the idea of the “Split-level” home.

In neighborhood planning and in the domestic designs, Griffin stressed freedom and informality by maximizing views, keeping structural profiles low, and exhibiting great variety in the plans. His neighborhoods feature communal space surrounded by houses with shared driveways, service areas, and connecting walls, creating expansive green spaces.

Figure 15. The Blythe House by Griffin used reinforced concrete both structurally and decoratively.

The Rock Crest / Rock Glen development in Mason City, Iowa, is where Griffin and Mahoney put it all together: architecture, landscape architecture, and community design. Noteworthy for the quality and variety of its designs, it is the largest Prairie School development in America. Stone was used to in the lower levels of the houses to anchor them to the landscape and low stone walls also span the street sides of the properties throughout the development, thus blurring distinctions between lots and visually tying them together. Stucco, wood and reinforced concrete is used in innovative ways.

Elmslie and Purcell

"Without necessity and the old barn-raising spirit of the pioneers, we knew a building would have no life. One could not invent a building; one could only grow one."
-William Purcell

Figure 16. The Edna Purcell House “Lake Place” by Purcell and Elmslie was set back from the street to create privacy and better views and light on the interior.

A team process approach to design was a defining philosophy of George Grant Elmslie and William Grey Purcell. Where Wright was known for custom building for clients according to his perceived needs for them, Elmslie and Purcell designed with their clients, the draftsman and support staff in their office and project contractors. Based in Minneapolis, Elmslie and Purcell designed homes of varying sizes and for many budgets. Beautiful decorative organic abstractions in terra cotta, wood, and metal found their way into homes where budgets allowed. They were innovators in interior space and in adapting floorplans to the site (Hammons, 1994).

The Edna Purcell House of 1913 is considered their masterpiece in residential design. Purposely choosing a long narrow lot and keeping the square footage in middle class perimeters, they built a home for the architect’s family which would showcase their talents and exhibit what could be done on a basic lot with an average-sized house (see Figure 5). By setting the house back on the lot an extra thirty feet, they created an expansive front yard and a sense of privacy and visual space inside the house; side windows look out over back yards, not into neighbors windows, and more light enters the interior.

Figure 17. The Woodbury County Courthouse by William L. Steele, Purcell and Elmslie in Sioux City, Iowa, was built from 1915-1918. It is the largest public building in the Prairie style.

William L. Steele, a Sioux City, Iowa, architect won a local competion to design the Woodbury County Courthouse in 1914. Having worked in Sullivan’s Chicago Office under the direction of Elmslie, Steele asked Purcell and Elmslie to assist with the design of the decoration; instead they redesigned the entire building. The result is the largest public building in the Prairie style.

Figure 18. The Woodbury County Courthouse integrated decorative terra cotta tile, cast iron, and sculpture by Alfonzo Iannelli.

Elmslie’s decoration in terra cotta, cast iron, glass, and sawed wood also involved sculpture and murals all beautifully integrated into the plan. The building successfully brings Prairie aesthetics into a well-functioning structure which is at once beautiful, yet humane and comfortable on a human scale.

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	(left) Figure 12. J.G. Melson House design by Griffin, and rendering by Marion Mahoney, foreshadowed Wright’s Fallingwater (Brooks, 1996, p.245). (right) Figure 13. Melson House of 1912 by Walter Burley Griffin (Kruty, P. & Maldre, M.,1996, cover sleeve).
Walter Burley Griffin, who referred to himself as a landscape architect, created highly original forms. Viewing the site and the relationship of building to site to be as important as the building itself, Griffin took his Prairie ideals beyond floorplans and facades to concern himself with development, town planning, and landscape design. Marion Mahoney, the first woman to earn a B.S. in Architecture from M.I.T., met Griffin in Wright’s studio where she designed furniture and details for interiors.
	Figure 14. Rule House of 1912-13 by Griffin is closely related to Wright’s “fireproof” scheme. The extended corner piers house bookcases and cupboards on the interior.
Griffin attempted to find an ecological “balance with nature” for his buildings. Initially influenced by Sullivan and Wright, Griffin and Mahoney went on to develop a personal style which emphasized visual stability. Griffin’s landscaping and Mahoney’s decorative detailing also added greatly to the distinctiveness of their style. He used cast concrete and looked to Native American sources (Johnson, 1977). His houses stressed the horizontal low profile seen in most of the Prairie School, while Griffin experimented in his interiors by articulating spaces vertically, “half-stepping” living areas, thus pioneering the idea of the “Split-level” home. In neighborhood planning and in the domestic designs, Griffin stressed freedom and informality by maximizing views, keeping structural profiles low, and exhibiting great variety in the plans. His neighborhoods feature communal space surrounded by houses with shared driveways, service areas, and connecting walls, creating expansive green spaces.
	Figure 15. The Blythe House by Griffin used reinforced concrete both structurally and decoratively.
The Rock Crest / Rock Glen development in Mason City, Iowa, is where Griffin and Mahoney put it all together: architecture, landscape architecture, and community design. Noteworthy for the quality and variety of its designs, it is the largest Prairie School development in America. Stone was used to in the lower levels of the houses to anchor them to the landscape and low stone walls also span the street sides of the properties throughout the development, thus blurring distinctions between lots and visually tying them together. Stucco, wood and reinforced concrete is used in innovative ways.

	Figure 16. The Edna Purcell House “Lake Place” by Purcell and Elmslie was set back from the street to create privacy and better views and light on the interior.
A team process approach to design was a defining philosophy of George Grant Elmslie and William Grey Purcell. Where Wright was known for custom building for clients according to his perceived needs for them, Elmslie and Purcell designed with their clients, the draftsman and support staff in their office and project contractors. Based in Minneapolis, Elmslie and Purcell designed homes of varying sizes and for many budgets. Beautiful decorative organic abstractions in terra cotta, wood, and metal found their way into homes where budgets allowed. They were innovators in interior space and in adapting floorplans to the site (Hammons, 1994). The Edna Purcell House of 1913 is considered their masterpiece in residential design. Purposely choosing a long narrow lot and keeping the square footage in middle class perimeters, they built a home for the architect’s family which would showcase their talents and exhibit what could be done on a basic lot with an average-sized house (see Figure 5). By setting the house back on the lot an extra thirty feet, they created an expansive front yard and a sense of privacy and visual space inside the house; side windows look out over back yards, not into neighbors windows, and more light enters the interior.
	Figure 17. The Woodbury County Courthouse by William L. Steele, Purcell and Elmslie in Sioux City, Iowa, was built from 1915-1918. It is the largest public building in the Prairie style.
William L. Steele, a Sioux City, Iowa, architect won a local competion to design the Woodbury County Courthouse in 1914. Having worked in Sullivan’s Chicago Office under the direction of Elmslie, Steele asked Purcell and Elmslie to assist with the design of the decoration; instead they redesigned the entire building. The result is the largest public building in the Prairie style.
	Figure 18. The Woodbury County Courthouse integrated decorative terra cotta tile, cast iron, and sculpture by Alfonzo Iannelli.
Elmslie’s decoration in terra cotta, cast iron, glass, and sawed wood also involved sculpture and murals all beautifully integrated into the plan. The building successfully brings Prairie aesthetics into a well-functioning structure which is at once beautiful, yet humane and comfortable on a human scale.