Avery Coonley house, Riverside, Illinois; (1907-1912); Prairie school
The
Avery Coonley house, also referred to as the Coonley House, or the Coonley
Estate is located on a small peninsula surrounded by the Des Plaines River in
Chicago, and of the few architecture pieces that Frank Lloyd Wright created, it
is one of the largest prairie school styled homes that he ever developed; while
also being the first of his work with a zoned residential plan. The other prairie
school styled buildings that he created were the Dana-Thomas house and the Darwin
D. Martin house. The house created a new layout, laid out in five separate, yet
united property structures. He placed the public space, the bedroom wing, and
the kitchen along with the servant areas on the second floor, creating three separate
private spaces which had the best view of the surrounding landscapes. The
bottom, however, had a direct relationship to the landscape around it, and
included the entrances, the playroom, and the sewing room which were activities
done in the public area during the day. These spaces were separated into its
three quarters which were laid out as the main structure, which was the Avery
Coonley Estate, the bedroom wing, and the stable-coach house alongside the
gardener’s cottage. The Coonley house was, as all of Wrights buildings were,
inspired by the nature surrounding the building. Frank Lloyd Wright let the surrounding
landscape create unity from the exterior to the interior. The building itself,
as all of Wright’s buildings did, let much of the scenery in through the many
windows. On other parts of the house the windows were painted with art glass
windows that employed geometric designs. These designs framed each of the
rooms, and the designs that were within. The colors used in the glass would
later be used in Wright’s “Textile block” houses in the 1920s. The work
throughout the building was meticulous and done thoroughly. The house itself
created long horizontal lines, and an overhanging hipped roof relating to the American
prairie style, which Frank Lloyd Wright always claimed that he had created. This
Estate showed the progression of Wright’s Prairie style and created a typical
expression through the overhanging eaves, the bands of art glass casement
windows, the free-flowing interior spaces, and the harmony of nature and site.
After
the house was completed Wright was not fully content; he modified the terraced pavilion,
added glass art to the doors, and created more glass art windows, to allow more
light into the second floor living room and effectively into the children’s
playroom which sat directly below. The house was later sold to Peter Kroehler,
A furniture manufacture, who created a sun room addition and turned the lily
pond into a swimming pool along by its own swimming house (the house was done
by Wright’s apprentice Robby Harrison.) Later, it was approved for demolition
to make room for 14 ranch homes, but luckily a compromise was agreed upon that
created the terms saying that developer Arnold Skow could divide the house into
North and South halves with a firewall to then build Five more houses in the
area. Even after all of the drastic changes the house maintained its original appearance
and kept most of its original interior work. The building was most recently
designated as a National Historical Landmark.
The façade of the house begins with
a horizontal structure as you approach it which is complemented by a lily pond
at the entrance.
The second
floor is surrounded completely by windows which looked out onto the surrounding
nature. The building was painted an earth tone to fit into the surrounding
nature, and parts were tiled with
stucco. The solid walls on this floor had murals of plants which were lit to
create the look of nature being lit through a window screen. The second floor
created views for the living spaces. On the lower floor the playroom created
complex entrances that connected a continuous circulation from indoor to
outdoor. The dining room and kitchen were separated from the rest of the space
to create intimate space for dining away from the rest of the activity. The
space altogether creates a cohesive and inviting space for private residence
and public community for events to happen on occasion. This was one of Frank
Lloyd Wrights greatest accomplishments in prairie styled housing.
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| Coonley House Plan |
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| Avery Coonley House |
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| Kohler Furniture advertising |
Work
Cited
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