<P> In August 1958, William Zeckendorf, a friend of Wright's and a New York real estate developer then involved in several development projects on Chicago's south side, acquired the Robie House at Wright's urging from the seminary through his development company Webb & Knapp . In February 1963, Zeckendorf donated the building to the University of Chicago . The University used Robie House as the Adlai E. Stevenson Institute of International Affairs, and later the building served as the headquarters for the University's Alumni Association . </P> <P> In January 1997 the University moved their offices out and turned over tours, operations, fundraising and restoration to the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust on February 1 . The Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust is restoring the Robie House to its original appearance in 1910 when construction was completed and the house best reflected the design intent of the architect and the client . Major structural restoration has been completed . Harboe Architects, a leading firm in historic preservation, is currently conducting an assessment of Robie House and preparing schematic plans for completion of the restoration . The Trust is following guidelines developed by the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties . </P> <P> The Robie House is one of the best known examples of Frank Lloyd Wright's Prairie style of architecture . The term was coined by architectural critics and historians (not by Wright) who noticed how the buildings and their various components owed their design influence to the landscape and plant life of the midwest prairie of the United States . Typical of Wright's Prairie houses, he designed not only the house, but all of the interiors, the windows, lighting, rugs, furniture and textiles . As Wright wrote in 1910, "it is quite impossible to consider the building one thing and its furnishings another...They are all mere structural details of its character and completeness ." </P> <P> The projecting cantilevered roof eaves, continuous bands of art - glass windows, and the use of Roman brick emphasize the horizontal, which had rich associations for Wright . The horizontal line reminded him of the American prairie and was a line of repose and shelter, appropriate for a house . The exterior walls are double - wythe construction of a Chicago common brick core with a red - orange iron - spotted Roman brick veneer . To further emphasize the horizontal of the bricks, the horizontal joints were filled with a cream - colored mortar and the small vertical joints were filled with brick - colored mortar . From a distance, this complex and expensive tuckpointing creates an impression of continuous lines of horizontal color and minimizes the appearance of individual bricks . The design of the art glass windows is an abstract pattern of colored and clear glass using Wright's favorite 30 and 60 - degree angles . Wright used similar designs in tapestries inside the house and for gates surrounding the outdoor spaces and enclosing the garage courtyard . Robie's generous budget allowed Wright to design a house with a largely steel structure, which accounts for the minimal deflection of the eaves . The planter urns, copings, lintels, sills and other exterior trimwork are of Bedford limestone . </P>

The robie house is a typical work by the architect