From 1915 to 1917 Frank Lloyd Wright, along with the Richards Company, designed and produced affordable homes through the use of pre-cutting. Building materials would be shipped to the site already the perfect size, like puzzle pieces. Frank Lloyd Wright’s designs were organized by a letter, followed by a number. The letter representing the floor plan and the number specifying the type of roof. This system produces less waste and involves less skilled labor than traditional construction methods and sets a precedent for future prefabrication methods.

Contracts were agreed upon between Frank Lloyd Wright and The Richards Company, and local dealers. These contracts set out the responsibilities between each party involved. Wright, being responsible for the design of the home, the Richards Company being responsible for manufacturing, and the dealers responsible for building in their specific territories. The goal was to use the American System-Builtdesign method not only in the Midwest but worldwide.

The homes, although marketed well in newspapers, were not the success that each party was hoping for. By the end, only around 18 homes were finished across four Midwest states. As this being one of Wright’s first collaborated projects with another company, he was unable to have the kind of quality control he was used to. Greater issues arose with the start of the First World War, which strangled the building market when many construction resources were relocated to France and other warzones. Contracts were broken by the Richards company when using some of Wright’s designs without his acknowledgment. Ultimately, lawsuits were filled by Wright, and the American System-Built Home was a failure.

Although we historically don’t view Frank Lloyd Wright as a failure, the goal of the research is to examine the failure of the American System-Built Homes through the examination of the TheDealer’s Territory Agreement and other contracts dealing with the System. The contracts can be split into two separate categories, location/building, and advertising/finances. These two scales begin to lay out the beginning of the failure of the System.