From Library Journal
Could there be anything more to say about the 20th century's most written-about architect? Landscape architecture professor Charles Aguar (Univ. of Georgia) and wife Berdeana find a fresh perspective by examining Frank Lloyd Wright's work through the eyes of environmentally conscious landscape designers. Backed by a decade's fieldwork, interviews, and archival sleuthing, the authors offer highly informed critiques of 85 designs that span Wright's 70-year career. Familiar buildings are seen in an entirely new light as the authors scrutinize each structure's interrelationship with its grounds, plantings, and "hardscape" the terraces, walls, and planters Wright used to anchor his buildings to their settings. They emphasize Wright's prescient advocacy of sound environmental planning. Unfortunately, the Aguars' penchant for speculation sometimes leads to head-scratching conclusions Wright as feng-shui master? and the book's cramped typeface, eye-straining illustrations, and perfunctory index detract from a text that deserves much better presentation. However, by and large, this lucid, solidly researched analysis will open new avenues of appreciation and inquiry for Wright fans and scholars. Highly recommended for academic and large public libraries, and wherever there is an interest in green architecture and sustainable landscapes. David Soltesz, Cuyahoga Cty. P.L., Parma, OHCopyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Gwinnett Daily News, July 20, 2002
the Aguars committed to writing the definitive work on Wright…in a way no other volume had.


Review
By Jaime Sarrio, Staff Intern

Berdeana Aguar navigates the pages of her book by instinct. Her familiarity with the contents suggests she has spent hour after hour memorizing the text she helped create.

She discusses the life of architect Frank Lloyd Wright effortlessly, never pausing to contemplate a year or fact. In seconds she can point to a page, passage or drawing that supports her point. She's one half of the diligent team that reintroduced the well-known architect to the literary world. The other did not live to see the book's publication.

Aguar co-authored Wrightscapes: Frank Lloyd Wright's Landscape Designs with her late husband Charles E. Aguar. Charles, a seasoned landscape architect, city planner and professor of architecture at the University of Georgia, was always fascinated by Wright's complicated designs, which incorporate light and landscape into the master plan.

In the early '90s, the Aguars committed to writing the definitive work on Wright--one that would explore his influences and the impact they had on his work in a way no other volume had.

"Everyone talks about the homes organic character, but they never say why--and they ignore the landscape," Aguar said.

Married in 1947 when he was 21 and she was 19, the couple had been writing together for decades. Their correspondence began while Charles was a soldier during World War II and evolved into a professional text after they married. Berdeana, a scriptwriter for commercials and documentaries, shared her husband's passion for Wright. She also possessed editing and interviewing skills that were heavily employed during the writing process. Both personally and professionally, the two were a natural fit.

"We were never at a loss for wshat to talk about," said Aguar. "He would do the writing, and then I would do the editing. Charlie always said the questions I asked were what made him think."

After nearly a decade of research, the Aguars compiled two volumes of text on Wright. The tone and direction of the book had taken shape, but the couple had yet to decide on how to close it.

Just months after the couple began the editing process, Charles went to lay down in his bedroom and quietly died at age 73.

Plagued by tragedy and alone for the first time in the Athens home her husband designed, Aguar finally returned to the project after encouragement and support from her five children.

"I wasn't about to let it fall apart," she said. "We put way too much of ourselves into it."

In addition to the challenges Aguar faced as a widow, she also faced the difficult task of finishing the book. Editors requested the two volumes be condensed into one edition and the number of sketches be reduced. Aguar also faced the challenge of writing the conclusion that the couple had put off for so long.

Still uncertain of how she would close the book, Aguar began searching through her husband's belongings. In the closet with several other items related and unrelated to Wright, Aguar found several pages of text marked "conclusion."

This year, Aguar saw the culmination of years of work realized in Wrightscapes, a book that Aguar considers as a living memorial to her husband. The inscription reads "For Charlie--My beloved soul mate and coauthor--deceased February 22, 2000."

"I don't know what I would have done without this," Aguar said.

At 74 with one novel under her belt, Aguar is making plans to tell the story of another under-explored genius. He was a devoted lover who kept his wife's lipstick-kissed handkerchief for good luck. A war hero, who brought his girlfriend's picture along for flights in the South Pacific because he knew she would enjoy it. And a teacher who challenged her students to find solutions to complex zoning problems.

She plans to title it Charles E. Aguar: Unsung Champion of Environmental Design.


The Catalog of Landscape Records in the United States Newsletter, Spring/Summer 2002
...a masterful and exhaustive richly illustrated treatise...the Darwin Martin floriycle is discussed with insightful brilliance...


Landscape Architecture, Nov. 2002
...if only one more book about the world's most frequently published architect is allowed, perhaps this should be it.


Planning, August 2002
...elegant and exhaustive accounting...well-illustrated text is organized chronologically...special value is the authors' refusal to deify their subject.


Choice, December 2002
...present Wright as "essentially pioneering the new discipline of environmental design." An important book. Upper-division undergraduates through professionals.


Bulletin: The Quarterly Newsletter of the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy, Spring 2003
definitive study...masterful...extremely informative...eminently readable...of particular interest...appendices containing lists of plant materials designated for...Wright projects.


Herald & Review (Decatur, IL), HOME section, May 11, 2003
a look at the wide range of work Wright created...planned developments, site plans and the influences in his life.


The Georgia Landscape, July 2003
...clearly delineates Wright's life...tackles each phase with...level of detail that is impressive...important...progressive and forward thinking


Book Description
Here is the first book to examine the environmental landscape designs of Frank Lloyd Wright, probably the world's best known and most influential architect. WRIGHTSCAPES analyzes 85 of his works, and pays particular attention to site planning, landscape design, community scale, and regional planning. The authors include many original diagrams, rare archival material, and some 200 photographs, many never published before. WRIGHTSCAPES also chronicles how and way Wright's famous ecological sensabilities were established and how his design aspirations went far beyond accepted definitions of architecture. WRIGHTSCAPES is ideal for required or supplemental reading within many curriculums of architecture, landscape architecture, and city planning or urban design.


Book Info
First book to examine the environmental landscape designs of Frank Lloyd Wright, probably the world's best known and most influential architect. Ideal for required or supplemental reading within many curriculums of architecture, landscape architecture, and city planning or urban design.


From the Back Cover
THE FIRST IN-DEPTH LOOK AT THE ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGNS OF “AMERICA’S FAVORITE ARCHITECT” . . . FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT

CONTAINS MANY NEVER BEFORE PUBLISHED PHOTOGRAPHS AND SITE PLANS

“ . . . a comprehensive and intriguing look at the work of Frank Lloyd Wright from the outside. It provides a view from the perspective of his designs in settings or landscapes . . . the point of view is to see how the designs of the outside flow into, out of, around, and in a few classic cases, under the architecture of the building.” -- John Crowley, Dean, College of Environmental Design, University of Georgia

Shedding light on a fascinating yet previously unexamined topic, Wrightscapes analyzes 85 of Frank Lloyd Wright’s designs paying particular attention to site planning, landscape design, community scale and regional planning. The authors include many original diagrams, rare archival material, and some 200 photographs and site plans, many never published before, detailing Wright’s residential and public work and his urban design initiatives. A true collectors item Wrightscapes is a pleasure to read and a joy to own.

Frank Lloyd Wright is perhaps best remembered for his unmatched mastery of the organic style of architecture – where a structure’s form and material blend harmoniously with its natural surroundings. Less well known, but equally inspirational are the contributions Wright brought to landscape and site design. His creations in this area reflect a holistic, sustainable, and environmentally-sensitive utilization of plants, climate, solar power, and natural lighting.

Wrightscapes is the first definitive book to address Frank Lloyd Wright’s landscapes and environments. The authors provide a unique new perspective of the man and his work by presenting previously ignored, yet important aspects of his achievements, interests, and career, including little-known facts such as:
* Wright originated the visionary concept of a rear living-room opening into a garden terrace -- fifty years before the California architects generally credited with the concept
* Wright actually designed the first carport – three decades prior to the date he is said to have “invented” it
* During the first forty years of Wright’s career, he personally and professionally interacted with, and was significantly influenced by, designers who today would be described as landscape architects
* Wright had a career-long fascination with community-scale planning

Wrightscapes also chronicles how and why Wright’s famous ecological sensibilities were established, delving into Japanese and European influences as well as forces that shaped both the young and the mature architect. The authors also demonstrate how his design aspirations went far beyond the accepted definitions of architecture. In order to be as complete as possible, Wrightscapes even includes a detailed listing of “dos and don’ts” for owners of homes designed by Frank Lloyd Wright

Here is truly groundbreaking, richly-illustrated coverage of an important yet unexplored aspect of Frank Lloyd Wright’s genius.


About the Author
The authors came to this project uniquely prepared for the task at hand. One possessed the well-founded savvy of an experienced landscape architect and city planner who collaborated with architects over a long period of time; the other has extensive writing expertise. They also share more than a half-century avocational interest in the subject matter and have spent the better part of the past decade conducting travel-field investigations and supportive research, evaluating and interpreting findings, and developing the Wrightscapes manuscript.

Charles Aguar (deceased) distinguished himself in all three areas of his professional life, as educator, landscape architect, and city planner. He was Professor Emeritus of Landscape Architecture at the University of Georgia, a charter member of the American Institute of Certified Planners and the Society for American City and Regional Planning History.He was very active in historical and cultural initiatives across the country, earning awards and grants from the American Planning Association, the National Endowment for the Arts, and many other organizations.

Berdeana Aguar collaborated with her husband on the writing of many of his works during the five decades of their marriage and began working full-time on Wrightscapes in 1994. She is a scriptwriter for commercial videos and documentary films whose clients include The Nature Conservancy, the University of Georgia School of Environmental Design, Mitsubishi, the American Arbitration Association, WSB-TV, and PBS.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"Frank Lloyd Wright is perhaps best remembered for his unmatched mastery of the organic style of architecture - where a structure's form and material blend harmoniously with its natural surroundings. Less well known, but equally inspirational are the contributions Wright brought to landscape and site design. His creations in this area reflect a holistic, sustainable, and environmentally sensitive utilization of plants, climate, solar power, and natural lighting." Wrightscapes also chronicles how and why Wright's famous ecological sensibilities were established, delving into Japanese and European influences as well as forces that shaped both the young and the mature architect. The authors also demonstrate how his design aspirations went far beyond the accepted definitions of architecture. In order to be as complete as possible, Wrightscapes includes previously unpublished listings of plants recommended for Wright's Prairie House landscapes, and a detailed listing of "dos and don'ts" for owners of any home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

SYNOPSIS

THE FIRST IN-DEPTH LOOK AT THE ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGNS OF ￯﾿ﾽAMERICA'S FAVORITE ARCHITECT￯﾿ﾽ . . . FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT

CONTAINS MANY NEVER BEFORE PUBLISHED PHOTOGRAPHS AND SITE PLANS

￯﾿ﾽ . . . a comprehensive and intriguing look at the work of Frank Lloyd Wright from the outside. It provides a view from the perspective of his designs in settings or landscapes . . . the point of view is to see how the designs of the outside flow into, out of, around, and in a few classic cases, under the architecture of the building.￯﾿ﾽ — John Crowley, Dean, College of Environmental Design, University of Georgia

Shedding light on a fascinating yet previously unexamined topic, Wrightscapes analyzes 85 of Frank Lloyd Wright's designs paying particular attention to site planning, landscape design, community scale and regional planning. The authors include many original diagrams, rare archival material, and some 200 photographs and site plans, many never published before, detailing Wright's residential and public work and his urban design initiatives. A true collectors item Wrightscapes is a pleasure to read and a joy to own.

Frank Lloyd Wright is perhaps best remembered for his unmatched mastery of the organic style of architecture ￯﾿ﾽ where a structure's form and material blend harmoniously with its natural surroundings. Less well known, but equally inspirational are the contributions Wright brought to landscape and site design. His creations in this area reflect a holistic, sustainable, and environmentally-sensitive utilization of plants, climate, solar power, and natural lighting.

Wrightscapes is the first definitive book to address Frank Lloyd Wright's landscapesand environments. The authors provide a unique new perspective of the man and his work by presenting previously ignored, yet important aspects of his achievements, interests, and career, including little-known facts such as:
* Wright originated the visionary concept of a rear living-room opening into a garden terrace — fifty years before the California architects generally credited with the concept
* Wright actually designed the first carport ￯﾿ﾽ three decades prior to the date he is said to have ￯﾿ﾽinvented￯﾿ﾽ it
* During the first forty years of Wright's career, he personally and professionally interacted with, and was significantly influenced by, designers who today would be described as landscape architects
* Wright had a career-long fascination with community-scale planning

Wrightscapes also chronicles how and why Wright's famous ecological sensibilities were established, delving into Japanese and European influences as well as forces that shaped both the young and the mature architect. The authors also demonstrate how his design aspirations went far beyond the accepted definitions of architecture. In order to be as complete as possible, Wrightscapes even includes a detailed listing of ￯﾿ﾽdos and don'ts￯﾿ﾽ for owners of homes designed by Frank Lloyd Wright

Here is truly groundbreaking, richly-illustrated coverage of an important yet unexplored aspect of Frank Lloyd Wright's genius.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal