In the 1930's Wright got interested in the use of natural, locally occuring materials for use in the construction of homes and buildings. He called this idea organic architecture.
Sometime in the early 30's Wright was invited to Russia and he pitched the Russians on the idea of organic architecture.
In the late 30's he got a commission to build a summer home in the mountains south-east of Pittsburgh for an artsy department store family----I'm sure this was on TV. This summer home was Fallingwater his most well known and admired masterpiece. The construction of this building was done with most of the materials coming from the site itself.
After WWII Wright was prepared to become a builder of tract housing on a large scale. He wrote a book about this concept, which he called Usonian homes. Once again the idea was organic architecture local materials and harmony with nature.
He chose the Pittsburgh area for a demonstration project and built some Usonian model homes in West Mifflin about 3/4 of a mile from what now is Century III mall.
Wright had problems with his job site project manager and the Pittsburgh banks who were skeptical about the idea of building on circular lots. So this project never went anywhere past the model home stage. Can anyone imagine the face of the Pittsburgh area after WWII if Wright's plans had been backed up by the Pittsburgh banks. We are talking low cost homes that are now treasures.
Sincerely, Tom Lehman