The influence of the automobile on Frank Lloyd Wright's architectural projects and works

This thesis aims to analyze the automobile's various significant influences on the architectural oeuvre of Frank Lloyd Wright. The first chapter discusses Wright's biography and early career in the American Midwest, establishing the sources of his enthusiasm for automobiles and their influence on his lifelong career. The second chapter discusses Wright's conceptual building projects on paper and through models for like-minded patrons, as well as Wright's own automobile-influenced project Broadacre City. The third and final chapter discusses the influence of Wright's mature automobile aesthetic on his realized designed structures, concluding with his last work, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City. Using a comparative research methodology, this thesis chronologically traces the evolution of particular motifs such as the spiral in Wright's conceptual designs and built structures, ultimately substantiating the automobile's significant influence on his architectural career and, in turn, on America's visual landscape.