Airstream Now Offers A Frank Lloyd Wright House You Can Tow

Architecture geeks who long to live in a house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright can now stop waiting for one of master’s residences to come up for sale. Airstream, maker of legendary aluminum land yachts, is officially marketing its Frank Lloyd Wright Usonian Limited Edition Travel Trailer, according to RVUniverse.com. At $185,000 to start, the RV costs as much as a house in some regions, but far less than the cool million and up that Wright-designed homes usually fetch. And of course you can hitch the Airstream up to a capable SUV or pickup and hit the road to look for America.

The trailer – Airstream says that only 200 will be built – is a 28-foot collaboration with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. It can sleep four and is crammed with nods to Wright’s distinctive, highly organic approach to design. The floorplan is reconfigurable, with a pair of twin beds that convert into a king-size unit, stowable and modular furniture that enables a dining area to transform into another sleeping space, and copious storage throughout the trailer. Frank Lloyd Wright’s unique graphics round out the vibe.

Airstream’s business really took off during the pandemic, when people shut in by lockdowns rediscovered the joys of hitting the open road in what was effectively a rolling domicile. Airstream has plenty of other offerings – including smaller Basecamp trailers developed to meet the needs of the Outward Bound set – but the Ohio-headquartered company remains famous for its larger “silver bullet” rigs.

While Airstream certainly leans into its considerable heritage, it also constantly looks to make its products relevant to new customers. CEO Bob Wheeler has basically made this his mission. For example, the Wright trailer includes solar panels that can actually gather power and store it in batteries for later use. The trailer also has plenty of integrated technology (Bluetooth, a smart TV, a four-speaker/single-subwoofer audio system) that’s effectively invisible so that it doesn’t distract from the interior design. Adding in on-demand hot water plumbing and a full galley kitchen, the company is making the case that home is wherever you want to park this thing.

“Usonian” was a Wrightian term that the architect applied to the blank slate that was American architecture, in his view. It’s now associated with a group of residences he designed from the 1930s through the 1950s. These houses were small and affordable (compared to his earlier homes), and they featured a lot of lovely organic wood paneling and built-in elements. They have a cozy, nature-loving quality that makes the connection with Airstream a bit unlikely, given the shiny aluminum surfaces of the trailers.

However, with space at a premium in an RV, the partnership makes sense once you step inside. It also doesn’t hurt that Airstream’s mid-century mojo dovetails with Wright’s later years, creating a neat historical affinity. Plenty of Airstream customers are also going to recognize the Wright aesthetic, so the company is bolstering its business relationship with older, affluent buyers. Obviously, if you have the money, snagging on of these trailers is a pretty good way to take your Wright obsession to the highway – or just park it in your driveway and call it the best guest house in the neighborhood.