This volume, Volume 1, covers the early Chicago years and the Prairie Houses, the period which provoked a profound influence on European architects. Wright's architectural work
during these early years was mostly residential, as it would be throughout his career, and from his earliest work, Frank Lloyd Wright demonstrated a knowledge of and respect for natural
materials.
In the ten years betweeen 1896 and 1906 he developed and perfected the so-called "prairie house." Wright believed the architect should have complete charge of architectural design,
and for him this meant interior furnishings as well as exterior landscape. He was not often given this freedom, but the 1908 AveryCoonley residence in Riverside, Illinois is
one of the finest examples. With the administration building for the Larkin Soap Company (1903–1905) and the Unity Temple (1905) he could realize bigger commissions. In 1910 he worked on
his famous publication "Ausgef羹hrte Bauten und Entw羹rfe" for the German publisher Wasmuth, which brought his ideas to a worldwide recognition.
The personal tragedy of 1914 brought a shadow over his successful, but struggled life: A servant at Taliesin had set fire to the residence and murdered his mistress Mamah, her two
children, a draftsman, and three workmen. But this could not stop Wright on his permanent search for a new architecture.
