The window design of the Jiyu Gakuen School Myonichikan, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, is still cool 100 years later

Window of Jiyu Gakuen School Myonichikan

When we think of World Heritage-listed structures, we tend to think of things like the pyramids in Egypt, the Horyu-ji Temple in Nara, or Angkor Wat in Cambodia, which were built so long ago that the identity of the architects who designed them is unknown. However, some buildings were designed by famous architects in the modern era.

Take, for example, the National Museum of Western Art in Ueno, Tokyo. Designed by Le Corbusier, the museum is registered as a World Heritage site. Other registered buildings include the Rietveld Schröder House designed by Dutch architect Gerrit Rietveld and the home and workplace of Luis Barragán, one of Mexico's most famous architects.

Although the Jiyu Gakuen School Myonichikan, which I visited on this day, is not registered as a World Heritage site, Frank Lloyd Wright, who designed it, is a world-famous architect whose works have been registered as a World Heritage site. While in Japan to design the Imperial Hotel, Wright's assistant, Arata Endo, introduced him to Motoko and Yoshikazu Hani, the couple who founded Jiyu Gakuen School, and as a result, Wright agreed to take on the design because he resonated with their educational philosophy.

This episode alone makes Wright seem like a very nice person who accepted the commission even though he was busy designing the Imperial Hotel. But Wright in Adam Grant's "Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success" is a different person. He is not portrayed as a good person, putting his interests first and failing to recognize the achievements of others, thereby tarnishing his reputation. It is hard to tell the true nature of a person by looking at only one aspect of him or her.

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