Taliesin West: "Genuis Location"
December 26, 2007 we toured Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West in Scottsdale, Arizona at 10 am. Here are some images of our tour that day.
Welcome to Taliesin West
Petrogylphs
Here are some native petrogylphs and an example of Wright's desert masonry. Thick walls were constructed from native, local stones placed inside wooden concrete forms. The architecture students learned "hands on" by harvesting these stones from the desert. Concrete was then poured into the forms. Taliesin was constucted as a winter camp, literally starting off from tents. Wright spent summers in the more temperate Wisconsin: the first Taliesin.
I think this shows Wright's genius of siting architecture
First Studio
This is the exterior of Wright's first studio at Taliesin. Like many of Wright's buildings it has a leaking roof. Wright's solution was to install gutters on the inside of the ceilings to catch drips and funnel them outside. The docent said this "mostly worked".
Thick desert masonry
Shining Brow
The View
A sense of belonging
Masonry detail
I love the river rock detail in this masonry and the way the tree flows with this building.
A nice fountain in the midst of the desert
A Wright bell tower
The docent emphasized that Taliesin was a place that Wright experimented with architecture. It was a workshop as well as an active architecture school. It remains an active architecture school to this day. There are also some artists and architects who live and practice at Taliesin. It was less polished than I expected. When I learned that it was his workshop and "sketchbook" it made more sense. It was both sublime and somewhat funky. I was glad to visit.
Welcome to Taliesin West
Petrogylphs
Here are some native petrogylphs and an example of Wright's desert masonry. Thick walls were constructed from native, local stones placed inside wooden concrete forms. The architecture students learned "hands on" by harvesting these stones from the desert. Concrete was then poured into the forms. Taliesin was constucted as a winter camp, literally starting off from tents. Wright spent summers in the more temperate Wisconsin: the first Taliesin.
I think this shows Wright's genius of siting architecture
First Studio
This is the exterior of Wright's first studio at Taliesin. Like many of Wright's buildings it has a leaking roof. Wright's solution was to install gutters on the inside of the ceilings to catch drips and funnel them outside. The docent said this "mostly worked".
Thick desert masonry
Shining Brow
Taliesin means "shining brow" reflecting Wright's philosphy that buildings should harmonize with the land - not conquer it. He felt that a building placed on the top of a hill ruined it. Taliesin hugs the land. If you turn around from this location you see the following view.
The View
A sense of belonging
Masonry detail
I love the river rock detail in this masonry and the way the tree flows with this building.
A nice fountain in the midst of the desert
A Wright bell tower
The docent emphasized that Taliesin was a place that Wright experimented with architecture. It was a workshop as well as an active architecture school. It remains an active architecture school to this day. There are also some artists and architects who live and practice at Taliesin. It was less polished than I expected. When I learned that it was his workshop and "sketchbook" it made more sense. It was both sublime and somewhat funky. I was glad to visit.
Comments