Mid-century modern house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright that showcases Usonian architecture through its innovative use of glass, concrete, wood, and integration with the surrounding landscape.
General Information
Thursday and Friday: 11am to 8pm
Saturday and Sunday: 10am to 6pm
Tuesday: Closed
Guided tour: $12 + tax per person
Museum members and youth 18 and under: Free guided tours
How to Get There
From Bentonville (1 mi): Head toward Museum Way and follow signs to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, where the house is located on the museum grounds near the south entrance.
Overview
The Bachman-Wilson House, built in and originally located in Millstone, New Jersey, was originally designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1954 for Abraham Wilson and his first wife, Gloria Bachman. Ms. Bachman's brother, Marvin, had studied with Wright at Taliesin West, his home and studio in Scottsdale, Arizona. In 2014 the house was acquired by the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas and has been relocated in its entirety to the museum's campus.
The Bachman-Wilson house is an example of Wright's invention of Usonian architecture. Wright built many of his houses around the notion of comfortable, low-cost living that fits the needs of its residents, as well as building a structure to match its environment. Wright was determined to use his new style to reinvent the previously box-like forms of early-to-mid twentieth century architecture, and create buildings that were right for modern times, as well as engaging and exciting for people to experience in a visual sense. Wright's ideas for low-cost living originated in the early twentieth century, and Wright was able to produce a large number of designs in that time. These would eventually turn into one of the largest collections of designs done by Wright in the early twentieth century.
The house is an example of Wright's ongoing pursuit of the "destruction of the box," and gives visitors an experience of continuous open and flowing spaces and transparency. Wright's invention of the transparent corner, which can be seen in the way the tall windows meet at a corner looking out onto the back porch area of the house, allows the interior space to have an even greater sense of openness and calm. Another architectural signature of Frank Lloyd Wright is also seen in the fireplace, as it sits in the central portion of the house, making it a sort of symbolic architectural centerpiece. While it does have many features that give a sense of open space, it also has many other interesting architectural features.
The front façade of concrete blocks has an almost fortress-like appearance to ensure privacy from the street. The house is built with Way-Lite concrete blocks and Philippine mahogany trim. It has a second story, rare in a Usonian house, with cantilevered balconies. The living room has a built-in banquette facing a wooded scene through a wall of 10 foot high glass panes, symbolizing a transcendental pew set before the altar of nature.
The public space is a dramatic focal point, with walls of glass and an open floor plan. Cut-out wooden panels of abstracted forms over 24 clerestory windows provide an unobtrusive yet restrained decorative touch to this lavish space. These recall Native American geometric motifs as well as stylized forms that may be based in nature. Construction was completed in 1956. Gloria and Abraham Wilson were the original owners of the home, and it was later bought and restored in 1988.
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Bachman-Wilson House", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0