This week, Amy suggests we focus on architecture and features an incredible gallery of images from Machu Picchu. You can read her challenge post here. That ancient area was abandoned sometime in the 16th century. I appreciate beautiful examples of architecture, especially in the construction and design of older churches in our country. But this post is about a 20th century architectural phenom and his world famous school of architecture.

Frank Lloyd Wright believed that structures should be designed in harmony with their environment. His portfolio includes the design of over 500 structures completed with many still in use today. Nestled in the foothills of the McDowell Mountains above Scottsdale, Arizona, his school of architecture and winter home was built in 1937 and is open still today. My challenge response features a small collection of images captured during a tour of Taliesin West.

His life and the background design of Taliesin West are well covered in Wikipedia entries so I will point you at that source if you’d like more specific information about the man or his school of architecture. The image above features a view to the southwest overlooking what is now the sprawling Phoenix metro. When it was built in the 1930’s, it was well away from the desert community. These days, it’s but a short drive from metropolitan Scottsdale.

Visitors to the National Historic Landmark, School of Architecture at Taliesin can purchase tickets for guided tours from just over an hour to some three hours in length. He considered it his desert laboratory and its construction and maintenance is a product of the school with immediate oversight by Frank Lloyd Wright himself.

The site is open daily during the cooler seasons but in the warmer summer months, tours are suspended on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. A full schedule of tours is available on their website. If you plan to be in the Phoenix area and would like a crash course in Frank Lloyd Wright’s life and style, I can highly recommend the 90-minute tour. More information about Taliesin West can be found on the Foundation website here.

For more images and my photo tour of the school in 2016, you can find my Travel Tuesday post here. Amy’s challenge this week reminded my of our tour and made me realize I hadn’t kept a promise I made to myself to come back and check out one of their longer and more detailed tours.

John Steiner

Scottsdale, Arizona.

In 1938, renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright purchased property in the foothills of the McDowell Mountains near Scottsdale, Arizona. Over the years, the winter home for the architect became a learning center for apprentice architects wishing to study under the master. Constructed almost entirely by students under the master’s direction, the home and school are now open to the public with a wide variety of tours offered daily.

Wright’s original home in Wisconsin was named “Taliesin”, a Welsh name meaning “Shining Brow.” Pronunciation guides disagree but those who took the tour learned, at least from our tour guide, that the correct pronunciation is “tal-ee-ess-in.” When Wright decided to build the school in Arizona, it only made sense to name his new home Taliesin West. The Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture and the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation find their main facilities here.

Even the furniture reflects the design of the master and the skills of the students who built them. The tour we selected took us through most of the building interiors as well as the grounds. As you can see from the above photo, Wright brought the desert outdoors inside through the use of large expanses of glass and even glassless windows. Our tour featured an expert guide who helped us non-architects in learning about Wright’s reasonsing and thought processes as the winter home grew and expanded into the artist’s community he envisioned.
Mr. Wright enjoyed oriental art and architecture. Taliesin West includes many examples of oriental art as well as giving the entire project a noticeable oriental bearing. The open nature of the living quarters with garden areas and sliding panels are very reminiscent of my perception of East Asian homes. Others with a background in architecture might completely disagree with my opinion. After all, I have zero background in architecture and design. Whatever it’s heritage, Taliesin West presents itself on the side of the mountain as if it has always been there. It is one with the nature of the landscape surrounding the estate.

According to their website here, the property is closed only on Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. We took the Insights Tour, an hour and a half of immersion in the property including the Wright’s private quarters and living room. During the summer, they offer a one-hour photographer’s tour that allows photographers to capture the soft light of sunset on the grounds and area around McDowell Mountain foothills. I will have to put this tour on my bucket list as we are seldom in the area between June and September when this tour is offered. I submit for your entertainment, a small gallery of images that I captured during the Insights Tour at Taliesin West. Click on an image to enlarge it and to scroll through the gallery.

John Steiner