Hollyhock House, Baby
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Hollyhock House (1921) in Los Angeles is the epitome of the architect’s method of shimmying people through his buildings through what he called ‘compression’ and ‘release.’
The ceilings in the secondary, threshold spaces are intentionally low —designed to make you feel uncomfortable, or compressed. As you walk through the entranceway and corridors, you are funnelled through quickly, as these flume-like spaces swiftly guide and then release you into the more open spaces for dwelling and relaxation.
This sense of continuous movement, circulation and fluidity is found throughout the house, with its long corridors and lines of sight. Upon entering the house and turning left, a few steps lead you up to a raised dining area.
The dark and sombre room contrasts the dining chairs within the space, with their humorously carved backrests that are decorated with a vertebrae motif. No slouching here, Aline! (Aline Barnsdall, a wealthy oil heirness, commissioned the house, which was originally conceived as part of a wider theatre complex that was never finished.)
When you reach the main living area, light-filled with its high ceilings, large windows and intricate skylight, you feel a sense of relief. Here, you’re encouraged to rest, dwell and take in the fine details of the woodwork, the monumental cast concrete fireplace (with a pool of water at its base!) and geometric patterns that are repeated throughout the interior and exterior, which are inspired by the hollyhock flower that you can enjoy in the verdant garden.
Taking inspiration from Japanese architecture, where boundaries between the inside and outside are dissolved, this house is an exquisite feat of imagination, craft and detail — where the inside becomes the outside, and vice versa.
Looking out from the garden towards the Hollywood Hills, you can see the infamous Hollywood sign; Griffith Observatory, and if you squint; Ennis House — the monolithic FLW-designed beauty, otherwise known as ‘the Blade Runner House’, standing broad and brutal in the distance.
Now owned by Robert Rosenheck and Cindy Capobianco, heroes of the artisan cannabis edible industry, I’d like to transport myself over there on a doobie high to get another FLW fix.
