Elizabeth Wright Ingraham facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Elizabeth Wright Ingraham
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| Born |
Elizabeth Wright
1922 |
| Died | (aged 91) |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Taliesin Armour Institute University of California, Berkeley |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Spouse(s) | Gordon Ingraham |
| Children | 4 |
| Parent(s) | John Lloyd Wright Hazel Lundin Wright |
| Awards | Colorado Women's Hall of Fame, 2014 |
| Practice | Architect |
Elizabeth Wright Ingraham (1922–2013) was an American architect and teacher. She was the granddaughter of the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright. She even studied with him at his Taliesin studio when she was just 15 years old.
Later, she started her own architecture business in Colorado Springs, Colorado, with her husband, Gordon Ingraham. They designed buildings in styles similar to her grandfather's. In 1970, she started her own company, Elizabeth Wright Ingraham and Associates. She ran it until she retired in 2007. She designed about 150 buildings in Colorado Springs and other places in the western United States.
She also created the Wright-Ingraham Institute. This place helps students and teachers learn about environmental issues through meetings and workshops. After she passed away, she was added to the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 2014.
Contents
Her Early Life and Education
Elizabeth Wright was born in 1922 in Oak Park, Illinois. Her father, John Lloyd Wright, was also an architect. Her mother was Hazel Lundin Wright. Elizabeth was the granddaughter of the well-known architect Frank Lloyd Wright.
She decided to become an architect when she was 14 years old. The next year, she studied at her grandfather's studio, Taliesin. She also studied architecture under Ludwig Mies van der Rohe at the Armour Institute in Chicago. She took classes at the University of California, Berkeley too.
During World War II, she worked as a draftsman for the United States Navy. She received her architect's license in 1947.
Her Career as an Architect
In 1948, Elizabeth and her husband, Gordon Ingraham, moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado. Gordon was also an architect. They wanted to start their own business there. They chose Colorado Springs because it had many design chances and not much competition.
Their company, Ingraham & Ingraham, Architects, followed Frank Lloyd Wright's Usonian and Prairie styles. They built "modest homes affordable to the upper middle class." In the 1950s, they designed more than 90 homes. This included the Beadles House in Colorado Springs. They also designed one home in North Dakota and two homes in Minnesota.
By 1970, Elizabeth Wright Ingraham wanted to try new architectural ideas. She wanted to move away from her grandfather's styles. That year, she started her own company. She called it Elizabeth Wright Ingraham and Associates. She went on to design about 150 buildings in Colorado Springs.
Some of her designs include the Vista Grande Community Church (1987). She also worked on an expansion of the Fountain Branch of the El Paso Country Library (2006). She added an upper story to the All Souls Unitarian Church. She designed private homes like the Solaz, La Casa, Kaleidoscope, Beadles, and Vradenburg houses. Wright Ingraham retired when she was 85 years old.
Her Architectural Style
Architecture is a message a civilization leaves about itself to the future.
Elizabeth Wright Ingraham followed her grandfather's ideas. She designed homes that were "low-slung" and fit well into the landscape. Her designs used natural light and organic building materials. They also offered great views of the outdoors.
Her design for the Vista Grande Community Church used a special material. It was an "energy-efficient, easy-to-maintain, insulated concrete called Thermomass." This was one of the first buildings in the country to use it. Her plan for the Kaleidoscope house included a 100-foot (30 m) skylight.
Other Important Activities
In 1970, the same year she started her architecture firm, Wright Ingraham created something else. She founded the non-profit Wright-Ingraham Institute. This institute focuses on studying how we use land and natural resources. It invites students and visiting teachers to meetings and workshops about environmental issues.
Wright Ingraham led the institute for its first 20 years. Now, a board runs it, and two of her daughters are on the board.
Wright Ingraham also started Crossroads. This was an international exchange program connected with Colorado College. She was also a cofounder of the Women's Forum of Colorado. She was involved in community activism too. At one point, she took part in a peace march in Colorado Springs.
Awards and Honors
Wright Ingraham received an honorary doctorate from the University of Colorado in 1999. After she passed away, she was added to the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 2014.
Her Personal Life
Elizabeth met her husband, Louis Gordon Ingraham (1915–1999), while they were both studying at Taliesin. They had one son and three daughters. They divorced in 1974. One of their daughters, Catherine Ingraham, also became an architect. She is now a professor of architecture at the Pratt Institute in New York.
Elizabeth Wright Ingraham lived in Colorado Springs for 65 years. In January 2013, she moved to her son's home in San Antonio, Texas. She passed away on September 15, 2013, at the age of 91. She died from congestive heart failure. Interestingly, her grandfather Frank Lloyd Wright had also died at the same age.
