Architecture and Design
Audie Santos
1/14/13
Jan. 14th, 2013
Johnson Wax House
Today's documentary was about the Johnson Wax Headquarters. It was made for the S.C. Johnson and Son Company by Frank Lloyd Wright. The build site for the headquarters was located in an ugly industrial area, so Frank Wright decided to make the HQ enclosed from the pollution. The building had very blunt corners and was very wide as apposed to a tall sharp sky scraper. Its walls were made of bricks giving it an old fashioned look.
Internally, the building resembles something from the future with the mushroom shaped columns. The parking garage's combination of the mushroom style columns and low ceiling make it appear as if it were a cave. The low ceilings enhance the idea of enclosure and separation. An entrance from the garage leads to the main work room where all of the employees desks and offices are located. The building takes from a tiny sort of discrete garage to a wide, huge, open space. The great work area's roof is supported by more mushroom like columns which are completely hollow. The columns would not be able to support the weight of the headquarters without the ingenious invention of steel mesh, which also allowed wiring to go through them. The clearings in the "mushroom forest" allow as much natural lighting as possible and electrical lights when needed.
The building received an add-on tower in the middle of the site years later. This tower was used for research, hence the name "Research Tower". In this tower, they experimented with different strands of wax products.
Inside the Great Workroom employees go one about their day at work while the rays of the sun light up the room.
http://djcoregon.com/dailyblog/files/2012/11/johnson-wax-factory.jpg
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