ABSTRACT
Why are certain buildings able to generate the feeling of the sublime? The American architect Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1859) designed several structures that have this ability. A feeling comparable to the emotions experienced during human interaction with dramatic landscapes. The feeling of the sublime can also be experienced in structures located in different latitudes of the globe, designed by architects who admired Wright’s work, such as the Brazilian Vilanova Artigas (1915-1985), the Danish Jørn Utzon (1918-2008), and the Portuguese Fernando Távora (1923-2005). Can we explain the feeling of the sublime in architecture based on Wright’s organic principles? We defend that Wright’s ability to translate emotions through construction was structured by the American transcendentalist philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882). We present Emerson’s transcendentalism, highlighting the impact that both Romanticism and German Idealism had on his ideas. We also explain Wright’s interaction with Emerson’s work and its impact on Wright’s interest in Japanese architecture. Finally, we relate the organic principles used by Wright to evoke the feeling of the sublime in his structures and buildings designed by architects from different latitudes. We conclude that Wright’s exposure to transcendentalist ideas guided him in his quest to bring self-awareness through architectural manifestations that are intricately associated with Nature and our experience in Nature.
