Taliesin West

I apologize for my lack of posting in the past few days.  I had good intentions of blogging but the weekend got away from me and this week I've just been plain lazy after work plus I've gotten sucked into this ridiculous teen book which means all other aspects of my life suffer because I want to spend every single minute reading!

This past week Mr. C had fall break so I decided to take the day off from work too so we could do something fun.   Our “date” this month (more on that in another post) was a tour of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West.  It’s really horrible that I’ve never been there being a design student and all but people seem to not see the sights in their own states.  We headed to Scottsdale and made it just in time for the 3:00 tour.  Our tour guide was amazing; she shared lots of quotes and was a wealth of knowledge, giving the 90 minute tour with no notes.  Although I had studied FLW’s work, I really enjoyed all of the personal information given in the tour because most of it was new to me.  FLW was a creative genius but most definitely arrogant and believed his way was always the right way (perhaps because his last name was Wright?).  A few of his quotes reminded me a bit of my father actually, and a little of myself. 

We toured the outside of the house, the office, living room, bedrooms, cabaret, and the studio.  We were able to sit in each room which made the experience really great.  The guide was so descriptive in describing a typical night in the room that you could imagine yourself there among FLW and his apprentices. 

The architecture school still remains and the program sounds amazing, but definitely not anything you’d consider mainstream.  The original students lived in tents in the desert and students now construct their own living spaces in the desert while attending the school.  The original students spent part of the year in AZ and the remainder in WI and the current students do the same.  A lot of the traditions started by the Wrights continue which says a lot about the type of people they were and their passion for doing what they loved.

Here are a few of the photos I took during the tour.  Unfortunately we didn't have much time in each room so I didn't get to take a ridiculous amount of pictures.  

This is the front of the house.  The water throughout the residence comes entirely from a well.  The stones were taken from the desert and demonstrate Mr. Wright's belief that structures should work with their surroundings rather than overpowering it.  I especially love the cherokee red doors, his signature, patented color.  

The roofs were mostly made of canvas which allowed light in since there was no electricity when the house was built.  There are indoor gutters which we were told work fairly well.  It sounds like there's quite a bit of upkeep with the canvas due to the rain and desert elements.  The light and acoustics in each space was amazing.   I didn't get any photos but all the doors were built to Mr. Wright's height of 5'8".  He apparently thought that anyone over 6" was a waste of space.  Woohoo for Mr. C and I; we made it under the cut!

Mr. C in one of the origami chairs.  The chairs were designed for the sitter to position themselves a certain way which promoted a relaxed and open body language.

Apparently the glass windows were an addition added after a few years due to the persistence of Mrs. Wright.  Previously there were canvas panels and the spaces had to be cleaned out each fall when the Wrights and apprentices returned.  And I thought cleaning my house was a pain....

  
I actually love this long seating area.  I don't think we've ever had enough people to fill this in our house at once though :)

FLW's room including his small desk and library.  The tour guide explained that there were two beds; one for sleeping and one in which Mr. Wright thought up many of his brilliant designs.

The residence was designed to work with the sun, heat, and desert surroundings.  This was a picture taken from a courtyard that was surprisingly cool due to the design of the structures around it.

I'm so glad we finally made it to Taliesin West.  I was most definitely worth the wait.  If you live in the Phoenix area and haven't visited, I definitely recommend it!