With 1300m² of floor space, Frank Lloyd Wright’s residence designed for Herbert Johnson of the Johnson Wax Company was (and still remains) a monumental proposition. Wright’s plan for Johnson centred upon a main nucleus dubbed the ‘Great Hall’ from which four separate wings (guests/carport, master bed, children’s rooms and servant’s quarters) would converge upon. One of the key features of this central space was a large stepped dome with a brick column to its centre housing five fireplaces and showcasing a suite of Wright’s famous brick detailing. As with all his work, Wright was transfixed by the way light would move through the residence and so he utilised a banded system of skylights to filter an impressive amount inwards through the ceilings.
As referenced by AD, Wright expressed particular satisfaction in the realisation of this work, commenting that ‘Wingspread has the best brickwork I have seen in my life, and the materials of construction and the workmanship throughout are everywhere substantial’