Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West
One of the highlights of my travels throughout the year of 2018 was my visit in February to the home and school of Frank Lloyd Wright in Scottsdale, Arizona, Taliesin West. As a kid I was obsessed with architecture and Frank Lloyd Wright, I was planning on being an Architect, in fact my first two years of college I still worked towards the goal, but just realized math was not my strong quality.
So for years I had wanted to visit the home and school that Wright created in the Arizona desert back in 1937 and where he lived until his death at age 91 in 1959. I was almost a little emotional sitting in what was Wrights personal office.
What I found amazing was that the design was still so relevant and perfect for the desert even 81 years later. Just as relevant today is Wrights philosophy of having architecture one with nature. The angles of Taliesin West all are the same angles of the desert landscape.
The tour guide was amazing, she had vast knowledge and made the tour interesting even for my Mom and Kevin who had little knowledge of FLW and the architecture.
One of the facts that I found amazing was that Wright didn’t believe in having glass in the windows because he felt that the school was more of a camp and that the glass would disrupt the nature. At that time they only used the structure in the winter months, and even though it is the desert it does get cold, I don’t think I would have been able to handle that.
If you are in Scottsdale make sure you find the time to go visit and enjoy the history and the architecture as well as the great desert views.
Tours start at $35 and are about 90 minutes long. Make reservations in advance to guaranty availability.
