美国国家公共电台 NPR Frank Lloyd Wright, But DIY: A Rare 'Usonian Automatic' House Is For Sale

Frank Lloyd Wright, But DIY: A Rare 'Usonian Automatic' House Is For Sale

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

The architect Frank Lloyd Wright is famous for his masterpieces of design - the spiral climb of the Guggenheim Museum, Fallingwater, a home delicately perched over a waterfall. But Wright also tried to bring good design to the masses, to let people build their own homes. New Hampshire Public Radio's Todd Bookman says it didn't quite work out.

TODD BOOKMAN, BYLINE¹: In a quiet neighborhood in Manchester, N.H., there are not one, but two Frank Lloyd Wright houses on the same street. It's the result of one family, the Kalils, being inspired by another family, the Zimmermans.

STEVEN KALIL: When my Uncle Toufiq saw what Zimmy (ph) was doing with his new house, he was intrigued² and got excited about it and several years later approached, you know, Wright himself.

BOOKMAN: That is Steven Kalil. His Uncle Toufiq and Aunt Mildred commissioned their own Frank Lloyd Wright house in 1955. They wanted something like their friends the Zimmerman's house - low slung³ with brick and wood.

KALIL: And I think they were surprised when they saw it because they were expecting that and saw this. And they were like, whoa.

BOOKMAN: Frank Lloyd Wright called what he designed for the Kalils a Usonian Automatic house. Steve Kalil gave me a tour of the 1,500 square-foot home.

KALIL: This is the master bedroom.

BOOKMAN: The Usonian Automatics are constructed out of stacked grey concrete rectangles. The Kalil house has something like 48,000 individually cast blocks, reinforced with rebar. They make up the walls and ceiling.

KALIL: I mean, if you look at this, each one of these is about 220 pounds. Like, not sure I want to be standing⁴ in here. But it's been here 65 years, 64 years. So...

BOOKMAN: The concrete gives Usonian Automatics a solid feel, a heft. But that's offset⁵ in the interior by walls lined with mahogany. And the living room of the Kalil house is composed of concrete and glass squares, 350 individual windows. It cost the Kalils $70,000 to build it in 1955, not a small sum. Wright's vision with the Automatics, though, was that the buyer could perhaps save money by constructing the home themselves - pour and stack their own concrete blocks.

JOHN WATERS: It wasn't an outlandish idea. Wright's clients tended to be very enthusiastic.

BOOKMAN: That's John Waters with the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy in Chicago. He says Wright wanted well-designed middle-class homes, but he wasn't willing to cut corners.

WATERS: If he had to choose between having a good-looking house and housing the masses, he'd choose a good-looking house.

BOOKMAN: Wright himself made that preference clear. Here he is in 1952 addressing the American Institute of Architects.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT: And I believe there is no more rewarding effort in life than just that - trying to make what you do, how you do it, beautiful.

BOOKMAN: Building your own Usonian Automatic home didn't catch on. It was harder to do than Wright may have thought. Today there are only seven of them in the U.S., including the Kalil house in Manchester. It still has its original stove and oven and Wright-designed furniture and upholstery.

KALIL: Really what's special about this is it's a time capsule.

BOOKMAN: Steve's uncle Toufiq lived here through 1990. Then Toufiq's younger brother John moved in. It was his home until last year, when he died at the age of 101. No other relatives are interested in moving in. So next month, it's going up for sale.

What do you like best about the house?

KALIL: It's very peaceful and contemplative, maybe.

BOOKMAN: Did you consider keeping it in the family?

KALIL: Oh, yes. Yeah, it was a hard decision, very hard.

BOOKMAN: With an asking price of $850,000, this Usonian Automatic isn't exactly in reach for the masses. But at least you don't have to build it yourself. For NPR News, I'm Todd Bookman.

(SOUNDBITE OF WELSH'S "THIRSTY")

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 intrigued   

adj.好奇的，被迷住了的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的过去式)；激起…的兴趣或好奇心；“intrigue”的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• You've really intrigued me—tell me more! 你说的真有意思—再给我讲一些吧！
• He was intrigued by her story. 他被她的故事迷住了。

3 slung   

抛( sling的过去式和过去分词 )； 吊挂； 遣送； 押往

参考例句：

• He slung the bag over his shoulder. 他把包一甩，挎在肩上。
• He stood up and slung his gun over his shoulder. 他站起来把枪往肩上一背。

4 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

5 offset   

n.分支，补偿；v.抵消，补偿

参考例句：

• Their wage increases would be offset by higher prices.他们增加的工资会被物价上涨所抵消。
• He put up his prices to offset the increased cost of materials.他提高了售价以补偿材料成本的增加。