Article: Form follows nature : The origins of American organic architecture
Author: Mark Mumford,
Journal of Architectural Education (1984-), Vol. 42, No. 3 (Spring, 1989), pp. 26-37
Published by: Blackwell Publishing on behalf of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, Inc.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/1425061
The article mainly talks about the "natural beauty" in architecture when forms following the nature. Three architects- Frank Furness, Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright were founders of the American organic tradition in architecture. They both have same approaches to architecture radically departed from traditional ideas. All natural forms are dynamic. The forces and pressures which interact in the structure of an animal, the tensions of muscles and joints as the organism moves, the patterns of growth and development viable in the forms of plants or shells, present the image of living form.
Most of the time we simply forgot that the land here was once soft and hilly. Plants and animals used to breathe freely here. The land used to be the home of many flowers and plants. However, nowadays, we just cover the land with concrete, and pretended it was always cold and motionless.
The article digs into the importance of adapting organic system into architecture. Architects should be advised to seek inspiration in nature to achieve true beauty. Thus, the landscape and nature are essential to be preserved. A dynamic compositional structure is an vital element of organic form, which, is alive where the inner life of architecture is kept.