SOURCE: "1908: In the Cause of Architecture, I," in Frank Lloyd Wright on Architecture, Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1941, pp. 31-45.

In the following essay, originally published in 1908, Wright discusses the principles of his architectural style, which emphasize simplicity, unity, and organic integrity.

Radical though it be, the work here illustrated is dedicated to a cause conservative in the best sense of the word. At no point does it involve denial of the elemental law and order inherent in all great architecture; rather, is it a declaration of love for the spirit of that law and order, and a reverential recognition of the elements that made its ancient letter in its time vital and beautiful.

Primarily, nature furnished the materials for architectural motifs out of which the architectural forms as we know them today have been developed, and, although our practice for centuries has been for the most part to...