In class, instead of napping when the lights were turned off, as Frank Lloyd Wright’s creations were projected onto the screen, I felt alive. His work communicated to me why I was in architecture school in the first place. I too wanted to create spaces that made people’s lives better.

Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959) was one of the only architects whose name I knew prior to majoring in architecture. Even after graduating I knew little about his true background and what made it possible for him to accomplish as much as he did. Was he a one-of-a-kind wonder or was there a way to emulate and follow in his footsteps to success?  What was clear to me, having just been exposed to his European counterparts, is that his buildings were more human and softer than his modern contemporaries’ machine-like starkness.

Before there was mid-century modern, there was Frank Lloyd Wright.

I am not alone in my admiration for Wright’s work, as he’s distinguished as the greatest American architect of all time by the American Institute of Architects (AIA). Adding to his skills, he was a lively character who was not afraid to promote himself and you had one polarizing man. “I had to choose early in my life between an honest arrogance and a hypocritical humility and I deliberately chose an honest arrogance.”

Wright’s personality helped inspire the hero in the classic, Fountainhead, which sold over ten million copies and separate from that he is easily the most written about architect of all time.

Yet with all the writing that has been done on this man, the premise I identify and lay out for you in this article has never been isolated or properly documented:  Frank Lloyd Wright, arguably the greatest architect of all time, was first and foremost a builder.

While I was more interested in extracurricular activities (some good, some bad) than my studies at that time in my life, I did not simply miss this point. It’s simple yet disturbing why: They don’t teach what I uncovered about Wright because it does not fit into the context of the neatly wrapped status quo box of today. Today, the architect designs, the builder builds, and their educational and career paths are separate.

That Wright was a builder at heart is not some minor tidbit from which to add to the stamp collection of irrelevant information on Wright. This is precisely why it was possible for him to unleash his creativity onto the world. Wright’s builder roots have been intentionally concealed by the powers that be, as I will explain, and so been missed by the masses. When properly identified and acted on, the truth of our past will unite those that create the built environment, so that we may unite the world.

This blog post is the first in a series on Frank Lloyd Wright’s true status as a builder. In future weekly posts, I will share more details about Wright’s professional life, debunking the notion that he was simply an architect. I’m devoted to setting the record straight.