When traveling, it’s easy to just look up a chain hotel (these days, likely a Marriott), get a cheap rate and call it a day. They’re familiar, typically a good value, and likely identical to something you’ve stayed in before. Yet, the hotel in its proper form should be a reflection of the location in which you’re staying. It should introduce you to the place’s spirit, culture and hospitality. And, in the best hotels, the design matters as much as the service.
Great architects, ones of Frank Lloyd Wright‘s or Mies van der Rohe‘s caliber, never succumb to corporate stencil designs. Whether it be incorporating the surrounding nature, challenging the way human and building interact, or stretching the physical imagination, each abode has their unique signature. And while you can visit Frank Lloyd Wright’s Guggenheim or attend Jean Nouvel’s Copenhagen Concert Hall while visiting a place, there’s also the opportunity to stay in places designed by the greats. These hotels or houses are the structures dreamed up by notable architects, and they give a whole new reason to travel to lustrous destinations like Ibiza, Spain — or Canaan, Connecticut.
Emil Bach House
Architect: Frank Lloyd Wright | Location: Chicago, IL
Frank Lloyd Wright, one of the most famous architects in American history and the man who penned the Guggenheim in New York City, also designed the humble Emil Bach House in Northern Chicago. Built in 1915, it has since become a Chicago Landmark and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Wright designed the house late in his Prairie Style phase, and Emil Bach House marks his transition to a more expressionist style of design.
