ABSTRACT
One of th\. most idio~yncratil' architects of this century was Frank Lloyd Wright. He was of that select group who must have dired access to a transcendental source of inspiration. the chari~matic school of architects. It was entirely consistent with his ch;lructer that he rarely produced buildings to fit into an urban context. but always designed in a self.expressive manner. At times the result W<lS successful. as with the (Juggenheim Foundati0n Museum in New York. The hasic geometrical <:oncept is of an inverted diminishing helix. This solved the problem of l'reating u continuous gallery on a restricted site; a characteristically ingenious solution. It is a comparatively small building. set among a totally undistinguished forest of offices. Its cylindrical form oilers blessed relief from the prevailing tyranny of the right-angle. There is also an elegance about it which raises the tone of a wider sector of urban space. In this case Wright was fully justified in creating an architecture of totall'ontrast. Instead of being just routine cityscape. the undistingui'ihed ntlke blocks now bel'ome a foil tn the Guggenheim Museum. They have been given status through their relationship with this lillie tOllr de ./ilrlT of architect ural expression.
