Taliesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright's Office Exterior
Image details
Contributor:
B. David Cathell / Alamy Stock PhotoImage ID:
2D5HYJ6File size:
92.2 MB (4.5 MB Compressed download)Releases:
Model - no | Property - noDo I need a release?Dimensions:
6951 x 4634 px | 58.9 x 39.2 cm | 23.2 x 15.4 inches | 300dpiDate taken:
5 November 2015Location:
Scottsdale, AZ, USAMore information:
You may not have heard of Taliesin West but I am sure you have heard of Frank Lloyd Wright — probably the best known architect ever. His popularity even overlapped into popular culture — note the Simon and Garfunkel song from 1970, "So Long Frank Lloyd Wright". Taliesin West is Wright's winter home and architecture school located just outside Scottsdale at the foot of the McDowell mountains. Wright began coming to this area in 1933 and in 1937 he purchased the land for some $3.50 an acre. Additional land was added and subtracted over time but the property still consists of about 500 acres. The architecture school survived with students spending part of the year here and part of the year in Taliesin in Wisconsin until quite recently. Due to conflicts between the school and Taliesin West, the school is changing its name and moving to Paolo Soleri's Cosanti. The tour started with Wright's office — the exterior is shown here. It is important to note that Wright conceived Taliesin West as a winter camp rather than a permanent campus. Thus the original structures were decidedly temporary and had to be rebuilt each winter when the students arrived. Over time, Wright and the students began to make the structures more permanent. You will note both in the office and throughout the facility that the walls were constructed of rock embedded in concrete. The rock, of course, was simply picked up from this desert property and carried to where construction was taking place. It is also important to note that Wright's design philosophy was to incorporate the structure into the landscape. His office certainly reflects that.