Luxfer Prisms
Date: 1895
Category: Building material
Wright designed and eventually patented 45 variants of the Luxfer Prism for the American Luxfer Prism Company. Typically installed in the upper registers of windows in both industrial and commercial spaces, these ribbed, 4-inch square sheets of glass used refraction to illuminate large, deep spaces with natural light. Wright’s many designs for Luxfer Prisms are distinguished by their geometric patterning. They feature abstract compositions made up of beading, squares, circles, and ovals that are reminiscent of Friedrich Froebel’s Gifts that Wright engaged with as a child. Wright’s patents for the Luxfer Prisms resulted in royalties with which he was able to construct a new studio at his home in Oak Park.