The Pope-Leighey House is a striking example of Frank Lloyd Wright’s work.
A cypress and brick masterpiece so connected to nature
it includes a kitchen window made for reaching out and picking herbs.
One of the highlights of this home is its unusual windows.
These features are a striking sign
of the way Frank Lloyd Wright rethought the relationship
between homes and natural light.
If you walk through the galley from the entry to the bedroom
you’ll find light hung like pictures on the wall.
The most distinctive windows in this house, the perforated windows
are called clerestory windows at the top, an old technique Wright embraced.
They bring natural light into the room from ceiling height
preserving privacy and lighting the room more broadly.
The subtle effect echoes that of the recessed lighting he favored.
These perforations were designs Wright made as an evolution of his stained glass windows
like these ones in a 1921 house Wright built.
Each type of house like the Pope-Leighey house received their own unique design.
Later, he simplified even more with glass set into concrete blocks.
I could not believe that I found this model.
Like, I was just there earlier this week
and then when I programmed in the exact date and time
that I shot the specific clip, at the house
your model matched the light perfectly.
John Luttropp's painstakingly designed 3D model of the Pope Leighey House
lets anyone play around with light.
Then you can render a more realistic version that is super accurate.
If I shot the clip at 4:42, 4:29, the light was off, but if I put in 4:42
It was exactly correct.
I mean, did you know that would happen?
No, I had no idea that it was that accurate.
What I usually do is, I try to find at least the floor plan and the floor elevations
and then I’ll dig around for photos too to get the details in.
So, for the design of those perforated windows
were you able to just look at pictures and then in sketch up
kind of carve out the proper pattern?
Yes, I found a very good drawing of it online that was to scale
and that I used as my basis for it.
These clerestory windows were combined with other perforated windows of the same design
like these in the child’s bedroom.
And large, wall-sized windows that let in tons of light throughout the day.
But all this would have been just a design touch
if it weren’t at the center of a broader attempt to make light part of the house.
I didn’t think I was going to like the house as much as I did.
I thought, well, it doesn't look like it's a very big house, which it isn't.
But it also didn't look like it had very good layout
from what I could tell from just looking at floor plans
and a few bad photographs that were out there at the time.
But being in the house...
was such a different experience.
That entryway and then walk down into the living room.
The tiny but really functional kitchen; the office off to the side.
And the fireplace.
Wright always builds a fireplace to be this special thing
this place where people can gather around and in that house it really felt that way.
This house is what Wright called a “Usonian”, his model for a new American house.
As an architect, Wright was famous for legendary large projects from the Roble House...
to Tokyo’s imperial hotel...
to the Johnson Wax headquarters.
After earlier experiments in affordable housing.
By the 1930s, he was seriously seeking to bring his principles to more people.
As he later wrote in “The Natural House” he believed in
“a building as dignified as a tree in the midst of nature.”
The Herbert Jacobs House in Madison, Wisconsin
is considered Wright’s first Usonian
and a Time magazine article about Wright and that Jacobs House
inspired a DC area journalist to beg Wright to build him a Usonian too.
The Pope-Leighey house features many Wright trademarks
that help the distinctive windows
light the house
“in God’s way — the natural way
as nearly as possible in the daytime and at night as nearly like the day.”
One is clearing obstructions.
A relatively open floor plan lets light travel.
See how the living room and dining area connect?
Radiant floor heating means no radiators took up space or obstructing light.
Wright hated attics for a similar reason
so he recommended people “get rid of the attic” and, if they didn’t
they use a “clerestory or lantern”
Instead of a garage, this house features an open air carport as well.
Shade, via trellises, offered occupants flexibility.
And perhaps most importantly, the unadorned walls
no paint, no plaster, no curtains unless by special request
put the pattern of light at the center of the adornment for the house.
This was a stark break from a lot of design of the time
where relatively small windows were covered, walls were plastered, and floors were carpeted.
House Beautiful magazine put together demonstration homes in the plaza hotel.
They represented the prevailing aesthetic:
closed floor plan, carpet, lots of curtains, visible light fixtures
basically anything that blocked light.
Though the Usonian challenged trends.
It didn’t become ubiquitous.
But the design meant light was as important a material as brick and wood.
Levittowns are some of the most famous suburban mass developments in the United States.
They were, in some ways, the antithesis of Wright’s dream
of organic interaction between a house and nature.
But developers William and Alfred Levitt’s open floor plan design
was inspired by Wright’s approach.
The “The Levittowner” in particular, copied natural light design elements like carports
window walls, and even high windows.
But Wright's massive influence doesn’t capture the scope of his philosophy.
He hoped that architects would prioritize
the “proper orientation of the house” to make windows work well with the light.
How did you figure out the orientation?
The floor plan I had had the North arrow on it.
You know, that’s always helpful.
The Pope Leighey house was actually moved to its current location in Alexandria, Virginia.
It was designed to face South, before being built facing North West
and then reoriented slightly during moves at Woodlawn.
The light creates a different house not only at different times of year.
But in different locations.
Frank Lloyd Wright didn’t just consider the placement of the windows
but also the position of the stars.