8/4/2019 Usonia

1/4

UsoniaFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The interior of the Rosenbaum House

Usonia ( /jus o n i /) is a word used by AmericanarchitectFrank Lloyd Wrightto refer to his vision for the

landscape of theUnited States, including the planning of citiesand thearchitecture of buildings. Wright

proposed the use of the adjective Usonian in place ofAmerican to describe the particularNew Worldcharacter

of the American landscape as distinct and free of previous architectural conventions.

Usonian has occasionally been used in the sense of "U.S. citizen". (See wiktionary:Usonianandnames for

Americans.)

Contents

[hide]

1 Usonian houses

2 Origin of the word

3 Noted Usonian

houses

4 See also

5 Notes

6 External links

[edit]Usonian houses

'Usonian' is a term usually referring to a group of approximately sixty middle-income family homes designed by

Frank Lloyd Wright beginning in 1936 with theJacobs House.[1]The "Usonian Homes" were typically small,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosenbaum_Househttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_Englishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_Englishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Stateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Architecthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Architecthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Architecthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Lloyd_Wrighthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Stateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Stateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Stateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_planninghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_planninghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Architecturehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Architecturehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Worldhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Worldhttp://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Usonianhttp://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Usonianhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_for_Americanshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_for_Americanshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_for_Americanshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usoniahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usoniahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usonia#Usonian_houseshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usonia#Origin_of_the_wordhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usonia#Noted_Usonian_houseshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usonia#Noted_Usonian_houseshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usonia#See_alsohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usonia#Noteshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usonia#External_linkshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Usonia&action=edit&section=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_and_Katherine_Jacobs_First_Househttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usonia#cite_note-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usonia#cite_note-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wfm_rosenbaum_house_interior.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wfm_rosenbaum_house_interior.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_Englishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_Englishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Stateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Architecthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Lloyd_Wrighthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Stateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_planninghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Architecturehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Worldhttp://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Usonianhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_for_Americanshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_for_Americanshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usoniahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usonia#Usonian_houseshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usonia#Origin_of_the_wordhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usonia#Noted_Usonian_houseshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usonia#Noted_Usonian_houseshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usonia#See_alsohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usonia#Noteshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usonia#External_linkshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Usonia&action=edit&section=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_and_Katherine_Jacobs_First_Househttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usonia#cite_note-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosenbaum_House

8/4/2019 Usonia

2/4

single-story dwellings without agarageor much storage, L-shaped to fit around a garden terrace on odd (and

cheap) lots, with native materials, flat roofs and large cantilevered overhangs for passive solar heatingand

natural cooling, natural lighting with clerestorywindows, andradiant-floor heating. A strong visual connection

between the interior and exterior spaces is an important characteristic of all Usonian homes. The

wordcarportwas coined by Wright to describe an overhang for a vehicle to park under.

Variants of the Jacobs House design are still in existence today and do not look overly dated. The Usonian

design is considered among the aesthetic origins of the popular "ranch" tract home popular in the American

west of the 1950s.

[edit]Origin of the word

Look

upUsonian in Wiktionary,

the free dictionary.

Gordon House

The word Usonian appears to have been coined by James Duff Law, an American writer born in 1865. In a

miscellaneous collection titled Here and There in Two Hemispheres (1903), Law quoted a letter of his own

(dated 18 June 1903) that begins "We of the United States, in justice to Canadians and Mexicans, have no

right to use the title 'Americans' when referring to matters pertaining exclusively to ourselves." He went on to

acknowledge that some author had proposed "Usona", but that he preferred "Usonia."[2] Perhaps the earliest

published use by Wright was in 1927:

But why this term "America" has become representative as the name of these United States at home andabroad is past recall.Samuel Butlerfitted us with a good name. He called us Usonians, and our Nation of

combined States, Usonia.

Frank Lloyd Wright on Architecture: Selected Writings 18941940, p. 100.

The word is clearly cognate with the Esperantoname for the United States, Usono. The creator of

Esperanto, L. L. Zamenhof, used this name in his speech at the 1910World Congress of

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garage_(house)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garage_(house)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garage_(house)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_heatinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_heatinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clerestoryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiant-floor_heatinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiant-floor_heatinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carporthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carporthttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Usonia&action=edit&section=2http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Usonianhttp://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Usonianhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiktionaryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiktionaryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_House_(Silverton,_Oregon)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usonia#cite_note-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Butler_(1835-1902)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Butler_(1835-1902)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esperantohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esperantohttp://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Usonohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L._L._Zamenhofhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Congress_of_Esperantohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Congress_of_Esperantohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gordon_House_front.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gordon_House_front.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garage_(house)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_heatinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clerestoryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiant-floor_heatinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carporthttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Usonia&action=edit&section=2http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Usonianhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiktionaryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_House_(Silverton,_Oregon)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usonia#cite_note-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Butler_(1835-1902)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esperantohttp://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Usonohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L._L._Zamenhofhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Congress_of_Esperanto

8/4/2019 Usonia

3/4

EsperantoinWashington, D.C., coincidentally the same year Wright was in Europe. However, the

Esperanto online dictionary Reta Vortaro[3]attributes the word to Wright.

[edit]Noted Usonian houses

The John D. Haynes House, viewed from the northwest

John D. Haynes House, Fort Wayne, Indiana

Arthur Pieper residence, Paradise Valley, Arizona

Bernard Schwartz House, Two Rivers, Wisconsin

Donald C. Duncan House, Donegal, Pennsylvania(dismantled and relocated from its original

location in Lisle, Illinois)

Dorothy S. Turkel House,Detroit,Michigan

Frank S. Sander House,Stamford, Connecticut

Evelyn and Conrad Gordon House,Wilsonville, Oregon(later moved to Silverton, Oregon)

Herbert and Katherine Jacobs First House,Madison, Wisconsin

J.A. Sweeton Residence,Cherry Hill, New Jersey

Kentuck Knob,Stewart Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania

Louis Penfield House, Willoughby, Ohio

Lowell and Agnes Walter House,Quasqueton, Iowa

Muirhead Farmhouse,Hampshire, Illinois

Pope-Leighey House, Alexandria, Virginia

Robert H. Sunday House, Marshalltown, Iowa

Robert and Rae Levin House, Kalamazoo, Michigan

Rosenbaum House,Florence, Alabama

Samara (John E. Christian House), West Lafayette, Indiana

Usonia Homes,Pleasantville, New York

Sol Friedman House

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Congress_of_Esperantohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Congress_of_Esperantohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington,_D.C.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington,_D.C.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usonia#cite_note-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usonia#cite_note-2http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Usonia&action=edit&section=3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Haynes_Househttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Haynes_Househttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Haynes_Househttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Wayne,_Indianahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Arthur_Pieper_residence&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradise_Valley,_Arizonahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Schwartz_Househttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_Rivers,_Wisconsinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_C._Duncan_Househttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donegal,_Pennsylvaniahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donegal,_Pennsylvaniahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisle,_Illinoishttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dorothy_S._Turkel_House&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detroithttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detroithttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detroithttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michiganhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michiganhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_S._Sander_Househttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_S._Sander_Househttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stamford,_Connecticuthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stamford,_Connecticuthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_House_(Silverton,_Oregon)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_House_(Silverton,_Oregon)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilsonville,_Oregonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilsonville,_Oregonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilsonville,_Oregonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silverton,_Oregonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_and_Katherine_Jacobs_First_Househttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_and_Katherine_Jacobs_First_Househttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madison,_Wisconsinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J.A._Sweeton_Residencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J.A._Sweeton_Residencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherry_Hill,_New_Jerseyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kentuck_Knobhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stewart_Township,_Fayette_County,_Pennsylvaniahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stewart_Township,_Fayette_County,_Pennsylvaniahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Penfield_Househttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willoughby,_Ohiohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lowell_and_Agnes_Walter_Househttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lowell_and_Agnes_Walter_Househttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quasqueton,_Iowahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quasqueton,_Iowahttp://www.muirheadfarmhouse.com/http://www.muirheadfarmhouse.com/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hampshire,_Illinoishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hampshire,_Illinoishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope-Leighey_Househttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandria,_Virginiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_H._Sunday_Househttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshalltown,_Iowahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_and_Rae_Levin_Househttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalamazoo,_Michiganhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosenbaum_Househttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosenbaum_Househttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence,_Alabamahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samara_(house)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Lafayette,_Indianahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usonia_Homeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usonia_Homeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleasantville,_New_Yorkhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleasantville,_New_Yorkhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Friedman_Househttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:View_off_the_Great_Room..tifhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:View_off_the_Great_Room..tif&page=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Congress_of_Esperantohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington,_D.C.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usonia#cite_note-2http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Usonia&action=edit&section=3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Haynes_Househttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Haynes_Househttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Wayne,_Indianahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Arthur_Pieper_residence&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradise_Valley,_Arizonahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Schwartz_Househttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_Rivers,_Wisconsinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_C._Duncan_Househttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donegal,_Pennsylvaniahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisle,_Illinoishttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dorothy_S._Turkel_House&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detroithttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michiganhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_S._Sander_Househttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stamford,_Connecticuthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_House_(Silverton,_Oregon)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilsonville,_Oregonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silverton,_Oregonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_and_Katherine_Jacobs_First_Househttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madison,_Wisconsinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J.A._Sweeton_Residencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherry_Hill,_New_Jerseyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kentuck_Knobhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stewart_Township,_Fayette_County,_Pennsylvaniahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Penfield_Househttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willoughby,_Ohiohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lowell_and_Agnes_Walter_Househttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quasqueton,_Iowahttp://www.muirheadfarmhouse.com/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hampshire,_Illinoishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope-Leighey_Househttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandria,_Virginiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_H._Sunday_Househttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshalltown,_Iowahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_and_Rae_Levin_Househttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalamazoo,_Michiganhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosenbaum_Househttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence,_Alabamahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samara_(house)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Lafayette,_Indianahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usonia_Homeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleasantville,_New_Yorkhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Friedman_House

8/4/2019 Usonia

4/4

Edward Serlin House

Roland Reisley House

Weltzheimer/Johnson House,Oberlin, Ohio

Zimmerman House, Manchester, New Hampshire

Russell & Ruth Kraus House in Ebsworth Park, Kirkwood, Missou

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Serlin_Househttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roland_Reisley_Househttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weltzheimer/Johnson_Househttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weltzheimer/Johnson_Househttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oberlin,_Ohiohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zimmerman_House_(Manchester,_New_Hampshire)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester,_New_Hampshirehttp://www.ebsworthpark.org/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirkwood,_Missourihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Serlin_Househttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roland_Reisley_Househttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weltzheimer/Johnson_Househttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oberlin,_Ohiohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zimmerman_House_(Manchester,_New_Hampshire)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester,_New_Hampshirehttp://www.ebsworthpark.org/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirkwood,_Missouri