Frank Lloyd Wright and Marshall Erdman Prefabricated Homes

Written By Andrew Pielage

Contractor Marshall Erdman met Frank Lloyd Wright on the Unitarian Meeting house project in 1954. The two discussed the idea of working together on prefabricated designs the same year.

They collaborated on three exclusive prefab designs, but only two were built. We will call them Prefab #1 and #2.

The Usonian-type home packages included all the major structural components: interior and exterior walls, floors, windows, and doors, as well as cabinets and woodwork. The buyer had to provide the lot, foundation, plumbing fixtures, heating units, electric wiring, and drywall, and paint.

Buyers had to submit a topographic map and photos of the lot to him before Wright would agree to a project. Wright would determine where the home should be positioned. Wright also intended to inspect each home after completion and to apply his famous glazed red signature brick to the home if it had been completed as planned.

Frank Lloyd Wright and Marshall Erdman Prefabricated Homes

Frank Lloyd Wright Prefabricated Houses manufactured by Marshall Erdman & Associates, Inc.

Prefab #1

Wright's design was for a single story, L-shaped home with a pitched-roof bedroom wing joining a flat-roofed living-dining-kitchen area centered on a large masonry fireplace. A carport or an optional $400 garage kit with one end of its roof resting on a detached storage shed completed the design. The interior was one quarter-inch thick mahogany plywood. Construction time was set at four months. Eventually, Wright produced variations for the designs, including a fourth bedroom and options for a full or partial basement. Versions ranged from 1,860 to 2,400 square feet. Nine Prefab #1’s were built in four states. I have photographed three of them for the #500fllwproject. They include the following:

The Eugene Van Tamelen House

The Eugene Van Tamelen House, 1956 (#500fllwproject #113) was built as the model home for the Erdman Prefab #1’s. When completed, it included all available custom options, resulting in a rather high final cost of $55,000 (the base price was $16,400). The living room was determined to be too dark, and for this and future Prefab #1’s, corner windows requiring a steel brace were installed. Taliesin Architects have contributed additional changes to the home after Wright’s death.

The Arnold Jackson House, “Skyview”

“Skyview,” the Arnold Jackson House built in 1957 (#500fllwproject #111), was moved in three sections from Madison to Beaver Dam (53 miles). The Jacksons added the optional garage kit and fully exposed basement. Its nickname Skyview comes from its north facing hillside location in Madison (is the house in Beaver Dam or Madison?). The Jacksons also had taken a tour of the Van Tamelen house and made variations according to their needs.

The Donald Duncan House

The Donald Duncan House (#500fllwproject #64) was originally built in Lisle, Illinois in 1957, but moved to Polymath Park in Pennsylvania in 2007. The Duncans toured the Van Tamelen and Jackson house before deciding on hiring Wright to bult them one with a carport. The interior is a blonde pigmented bleach on mahogany with grey block.

Frank Lloyd Wright (left) and Marshall Erdman (right) look over a model of a prefabricated three-bedroom house.

PHOTO INFO: Wright delivered a lecture on prefabrication and his prefab design in the Crystal Ballroom of Chicago’s Blackstone Hotel. This model was most likely created for the show and his lecture. "A New Wright Project. Architect Frank Lloyd Wright, left, and manufacturer Marshall Erdman, Madison, Wis., look over a model of a prefabricated three- bedroom house that is expected to sell for about $20,000.

Prefab #2

The Walter Rudin House

To conclude the history of the Erdman prefabs, the Walter Rudin house (#500fllwproject #65) was the first built and a fine example of the #2 model. The James B. McBean Residence in Rochester, Minnesota is the second prefab #2, a square, two-story home with a flat roof. The house has a large, square two-story living room, which is illuminated by a wall of windows. Also on the first floor are the dining area, kitchen, entry hall, utility room, and master bedroom. A large concrete block fireplace separates the kitchen and living room. A stairway leads to a balcony and three second-story bedrooms.

The house is constructed from concrete block with horizontal board and batten siding. A row of windows just below the soffit make the chunky flat roof appear to float above the house. A carport attached to one corner of the house completes the design.

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My (Random) FIELD NOTES:

ACCESS & OVERVIEW:

Having photographed over 100 unique Wright designs, walking inside two almost identical designs within a span of 24 hours was a bit surreal. Both immediately reminded me of the Duncan house, which I photographed years ago. But I guess that was the point of Wright and Erdman getting together; they wanted to mass produce identical (depending on options) houses and do it in the most efficient way. I love the prefab concept.

Sometimes these shoots are planned months in advance, and sometimes it’s only a day or two because the owners heard I was in town. I had help getting photography access from two different groups for these prefab homes. I am so thankful for the big but little Wright community that has been so supportive of the project.

WEATHER & TIMING:

I had sunny weather for both shoots with lots of direct light. I wasn’t really getting direct light in the interior though during the Van Tamelen shoot, and this seems to be by design. The space remains cooler, and the house has a slightly sunken feeling because of big mature trees that surround it. If I decided to shoot during the softer light of early morning or later afternoon, those trees will most likely prevent the direct light from coming inside. For this shoot, it’s really a choice of either having harsh direct light inside or no external light coming in during the soft-light hours. I almost always prefer the softer light, which is warmer and diffuse, resulting in less contrast.

THOUGHTS:

1. I absolutely love the blonde mahogany walls inside, it’s such a clean look, and as a photographer who focuses on light and design lines, it was fun placing lines in the foreground to help lead they eye down the hallways and even make a right angle.

2. I was trying to figure out how to compare the minor differences between the two #1 prefabs. I decided to take almost the same compositions in both, allowing the viewer to identify differences in the design and space.

3. I’ll briefly discuss the elephant in the room here. Some of the designs had been renovated with Wright design in mind but not followed. There are pros and cons to this scenario. I feel a Frank Lloyd Wright home buyer takes on some responsibility to keep the home as close to the original as possible. It’s not a typical home. Wright was the best American architect, period, and maybe the best in the world. With only a few hundred designs left, they must be preserved as well as possible so that they can teach and be enjoyed for generations to come. Conversely, Wright and his designs were imperfect. Like most creatives, he didn’t nail a concept on the first try… Yes, I consider Wright to be more artist than architect. So, what happens when we must repair or alter his designs? Before we go too deep into this rabbit hole, I want to return to photography. I have chosen not to photograph parts of the house that are not mostly original. If a repair was done with similar products to his design plans, then I photograph them. I have chosen not to photograph anything that veers from Wright’s specifications for the project, which is centered on Wright and his original designs.

Andrew Pielage
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