Fascinating Examples Of Organic Architecture

Organic Architecture is a growing trend in architectural design. From trees indoors to exposed rock walls and aesthetics complimentary to surrounding environments, the unique style is something to behold. However, organic architecture is about more than appearances. It has an ecological ethos in mind as well, which explains its ever-rising popularity.

In this article we explore organic architecture, highlighting some fascinating examples.

Organic Architecture: Origins and Ethos

Arguably, organic architecture has existed as long as architecture has. For thousands of years, manmade structures would only be made from and reflect their surroundings. Today, however, it is an established style, which American architect Frank Llyod Wright helped to secure.

Frank Lloyd Wright coined the term ‘organic architecture’ in 1914. Born and raised in rural Wisconsin, living and working on farms, Wright developed a keen appreciation for human immersion and integration with the natural world.

He would later go on to write books and design buildings which championed the interconnectivity of structures and their surrounding elements. He maintained that buildings should merge with nature, not obstruct or overshadow it.

Wright also felt that functionality should not overshadow form, that the beauty or character of a space makes it as much a home as its use. With this in mind, a door or window is considered as much an aesthetic design element and part of the house to be spotlighted and integrated as any other.

What Is Organic Architecture?

Organic architecture is an architectural design style that is inspired by and integrated with nature. It will often use raw materials and reflect its surroundings. Building materials may be sourced from its local environment, and its colour palette complementary to or inspired by that same environment.

Sometimes the build will be integrated into its environment directly - bare rock faces and forms comprising part of the structure, for example. Green roofs are an increasingly popular feature within architecture and can form an extension of surrounding greenery or plant life, blending a building into its landscape.

The use of raw or natural materials is often key - resources that are not over-manufactured or unnatural. For example, wood remains wood, concrete remains concrete. They are not altered or transformed to look as though they are something else.

Organic architecture is essentially a celebration of nature and our cooperation with it. Man-made structures and nature appear as a continuous, unified organism. And this doesn’t end with exteriors and their settings. Each element within a structure is meant to relate intimately to another, and to the whole. Spaces are often open and organically connected in a seamless transition.

Spatial Design Architects appreciate and understand well the popularity of organic design. We’re always happy to incorporate elements to a build, in accordance with an owner’s wishes. We can bring ideas and inspiration for organic elements, whilst keeping in mind an eco-friendly, sustainability methodology. It can be an invigorating option for many different house styles.

Here are some inspiring examples of organic architecture from around the world.

Fallingwater

Nestled in the Bear Run valley, Fallingwater is considered by many to be Frank Lloyd Wright’s masterpiece and the best example of organic architecture. It was built on top of a natural waterfall for wealthy businessman Edgar Kaufmann in the 1930s, as a retreat for him and his family. Later the property was entrusted to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and was opened to the public.

The property is nestled within a forest of astonishing greenery, and the Bear Run’s dramatic waterfall flows through the bottom of the house. It features walls of locally quarried stone and stone floors that continue seamlessly out onto terraces. It even avoids regular, less organic building elements such as metal window frames - instead, glass windows run directly into the building’s stonework.

The Learning Hub at Nanyang Technological University

Completed in 2015 by Heatherwick Studios, the Learning Hub is a collection of handmade concrete towers made to resemble a grove of lofty trees. Inside, however, each tower is a stack of twelve rounded tutorial rooms, based around a spectacular atrium - giving the building its nickname ‘the hive’. Garden terraces and free-flowing spaces are designed to encourage sociability within this ‘hive’.

The atrium also flows naturally to the outside, allowing airflow and organic ventilation, keeping the hub and its inhabitants cool. Using more eco-friendly air conditioning systems and concrete as its main building component, the Hub’s construction aimed to achieve the highest standards of sustainability.

East Beach Cafe

This cafe, completed in 2007 by Heatherwick Studios, could look from afar to be something entirely natural. Its raw, rusted steel shell was made by just two local welders. The smooth, curving segments, along with the building’s long, low shape, make it appear as a great piece of driftwood. It would not be out of place on any British beachfront, nestled on the shore alongside the seaweed, rocks, and other debris.

East Beach cafe also boasts 40 metres of windows that frame its sea view, with shutters that are invisible when rolled up. Situated in the seaside town of Little Hampton, this cafe’s aesthetic is an intriguing combination of manmade industry and the natural world.

Rådhuset Metro Station

Radhuset Station opened in 1975 and, along with other Stockholm metro stations, leaves exposed much of the bedrock it’s carved into. Escalators and impressive concrete features seem as though they’re being swallowed into the bowels of the Earth. This effect is enhanced by the reddish colouring and the illumination of these cavernous walls. This is a striking example of the inherent unity between functional, man-made structures and the raw, natural world they depend upon.

Thorncrown Chapel

Thorncrown Chapel was designed by renowned architect E. Fay Jones and opened in 1980. Jones described the Ozark chapel as ‘Ozark Gothic’. It was inspired by Paris’s Sainte-Chapelle but is made mostly of pinewood and glass. The incredible amount of windows makes the chapel inseparable from its surrounding greenery. It is made from entirely organic materials and set upon a native flagstone floor. All these elements make Thorncrown Chapel appear as a beautiful, natural part of the surrounding Ozark hillside.

Taliesin West

Another one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s designs is Taliesin West, built in 1937. Based in the desert foothills of Scottsdale Arizona, Wright used this home personally as a winter retreat. It was important to him that it be fashioned after, and embedded into the landscape of long, low, sweeping lines. He wished to establish ‘Arizona Architecture’, and as with his other builds, used local materials to do it. This ‘desert masonry’ made use of local rock and desert sand.

Casa Mila

Barcelona's famous modernist building designed by Antoni Gaudi is nicknamed ‘La Pedrera’, which in English means ‘The Stone Quarry’. Its self-supporting facade of surreal, wobbling limestone is what makes this structure so unique. The unconventional absence of standard lines or geometry makes Casa Mila appear more like a strange, organic formation. Something that might have been thrust up from the earth, by the earth.

The Ecological Inspiration Of Organic Architecture

Organic architecture reinspires us to live in balance with nature. Being unified with nature reminds us of what we cherish about it. It reminds us of where we come from, and our automatic connection to it. Our inherent reliance on it. If we take more than we need, we lose the land. If we lose the land, we lose a part of ourselves.

The philosophy comes hand in hand with sustainability. The symbiotic relationship between man and land means intuitive, local resourcing - not imported or manufactured material. This makes for a hugely reduced carbon footprint. It inspires creativity, resourcefulness, and sustainability, with beautiful results.

With the ever-growing concerns of climate change, it’s easy to see why organic architecture continues to grow in popularity. It provides hope that a modern house and modern living can be sustained within nature, and not lay waste to it. In fact, organic architecture demonstrates the beautiful possibilities of man and nature’s harmony in the 21st century.

These days, many design consultants and interior design services will be happy to incorporate organic elements into their plans. Spatial Design Architects are no different. If you’re interested in organic architecture for your design, get in touch with us today to discuss the possibilities.