num_pages: 144
description: Purcell and Prairie Progressives explores the work of two important members of the organic architecture movement, and celebrates their tremendously important contributions to American architecture and the Prairie School. Wishing to return to simplicity and honesty, Purcell and Elmslie created homes and buildings that were consistent with a democratic society-simple forms, the natural use of textural materials and decoration, and buildings that accommodated the nature of a site. As did Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, Purcell and Elmslie held the conviction that a building does not end with its simple structure, but reaches its final and logical culmination in the clothing-color, situation and natural environment, together with its decoration of glass, terra-cotta, and other textural materials.The firm of Purcell and Elmslie was tremendously successful in the sense that their small open-planned free-flowing houses could be shared by a great number of Americans of moderate means. Projects discussed in this book can be found throughout the Midwest, including Minnesota, Michigan, Iowa, North Dakota, Illinois, Wisconsin, and more. The time has come to recognize the work of these progressive architects of the Midwest.Purcell and Prairie Progressives Comprehensive biographies of George Grant Elmslie and William Gray PurcellThe Work of the FirmThe Domestic and Non-Domestic Work of Purcell, Feick and ElmslieWork after the Firm Broke UpThe Late Work of Purcell and ElmslieA Catalog of Major Projects
language: English
title: Purcell & Elmslie: Prairie Progressive Architects
titlecomplete: Purcell & Elmslie: Prairie Progressive Architects
ratings_count: 8
publisher: Gibbs Smith