Wright Renewed: Two Views Reconstructing the Architect's Buildings in American and Japan

Abstract

Frank Lloyd Wright, widely considered to be America's greatest architect, believed that spirituality was a quality inherent to his craft. As one of the few Western architects who practiced in Japan in the early twentieth century, his work provides a unique cross-cultural platform for study and comparison. This thesis explores the question: "How can we try to capture the spirit of the original in the reconstruction of an historic resource?" The concept of a building's spirit, aligned with that of authenticity, is first defined through a series of criteria. Then, the thesis question is explored across three seminal Wright case studies, presciently considered in light of divergent American and Japanese reconstruction philosophies and preservation practices, and a series of conclusions are drawn.