Under Arizona Skies The Apprentice Desert Shelters at Frank Lloyd Wright s Taliesin West 1
Under Arizona Skies The Apprentice Desert Shelters at Frank Lloyd Wright s Taliesin West Victor E. Sidy, Dean, Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture The place for an architect to study construction first of all, before he gets into the theory of the various formulas that exist in connection with steel beams, girders, and reinforced concrete, is the study of nature... An architect... knows the secrets of nature and studies them, is informed by them, and comes out strong with knowledge. Frank Lloyd Wright 1 Tucked away in the desert surrounding Frank Lloyd Wright s Taliesin West is a landscape of architectural experiments. Hidden amongst boulder-strewn washes and cholla cactus thickets are nearly seventyfive years of architectural experiments small structures for dwelling designed by aspiring architects at the beginning of their careers. Conceived as alternatives to dormitory rooms, these shelters are where, today, the more adventurous undergraduate and graduate students at the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture reside during their fall and spring academic terms. Their education revolves, in part, around understanding the natural environment and, then, designing and building these structures in response. Walking with a student resident on a visit to the shelters, it takes over two hours to zigzag from one shelter to the next and onward through a network of gravel pathways. During the course of this journey, one is first enveloped within the intimacies of the desert: its creosote scent, the filigreed ironwood trees, the umber, red, and grey of the native stone. Gradually, ruins of low concrete and stone walls appear amongst the sagebrush; these are remnants of original tent bases from the 1930s and 1940s. Continuing onward, a glass and steel cube with an overhanging roof emerges behind a paloverde tree. In the distance, white and grey geometric forms of other shelters peek through the chaparral. Opening the door to a shelter, one finds a modest-sized sitting area, flanked by a bed alcove on one side and a large open fireplace on the other. Expansive windows open toward the McDowell Mountains to the east; to the west, a narrow band of windows lets in shafts of afternoon sunlight. Low-voltage lights dot the ceiling, but otherwise, there is little evidence of modern conveniences. In fact, though many of these shelters have electricity from solar power, they have no running water or central heating or cooling. Opposite page: Ironwood Shelter. 2 3
RED ROOF SHELTER RED ROOF SHELTER Red Roof Shelter. Designer: Fredrick Bingham, 1970. An enterprising Canadian turned a tent site into an angular sculpture of stone, concrete, and steel. The complex roof structure was installed with the assistance of a young contractor, who later developed a successful career in metal roofing. The exuberant form of the shelter, however, thwarted multiple attempts to fully enclose it from the elements, and it remains as much a sculpture as it is a habitation. 4 5
nbada (straw-bale) shelter nbada (straw-bale) shelter Nbada (Straw-Bale) Shelter. Designer: Michael Heublein, 2004. Heublein s interest in naturally derived construction materials was realized in his straw-bale shelter. The straw walls provide excellent insulation in the winter months, and during the warm months, two windows and a door provide natural ventilation. The centerpiece of the shelter is the roof structure, composed of three interlocking, curved roof beams. A network of tensile fabric shades the roof, creating an expressive beacon in the desert. 6 7
Nestled among the cactus thickets and dry washes of the Arizona desert lies an intriguing landscape of architectural experiments. Sometimes encompassing a paloverde tree or suspended many feet above the desert floor, these small dwellings, conceived by architecture students as alternatives to dormitory rooms, embrace and in their own way, celebrate the natural, rugged terrain surrounding Frank Lloyd Wright s Taliesin West. The earliest shelters were created by adventurous apprentices at the Taliesin Fellowship, a school for architects established by Frank Lloyd Wright in the mid-1930s. After Wright s death, a more structured school the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture was established, and the practice of designing and building a personal dwelling became a unique feature of the school s curriculum. Wright insisted that there would be no armchair architects at his school; apprentices would learn through hard work and firsthand experience. The response to this directive has been astonishingly creative. In addition to honing their design and drafting skills, students comb the desert for dwelling sites; consider the effects of extreme temperature change and winter rain; gather construction materials from surrounding hills and dry riverbeds; and thoroughly explore what Wright termed organic architecture. Collected in Under Arizona Skies are photographs and architectural plans of the most exemplary student shelters built at Taliesin West, as well as personal accounts written by Victor E. Sidy, Dean of the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture, and Bruce Brooks Pfeiffer, Director of Archives at the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. 72 pages, 7 x 7 inches Smyth-sewn casebound, with jacket Includes architectural plans and 50 color and black-and-white photographs $24.95 US ($27.95 Canada) ISBN 978-0-7649-5959-2 Catalog No. A201 Available September 2011 front cover: Hanging Tent. Designers: Fatma Elmalipinar, Fabian Mantel, 2001; remodel: Pranav Naik, 2010. back cover: Three Desert Way. Designer: Trevor Pan, 2006. Photograph by Jerry Portelli. 2011 The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, Taliesin West, Scottsdale, Arizona. All rights reserved. Published by Pomegranate Communications, Inc. Box 808022, Petaluma, CA 94975 800 227 1428 www.pomegranate.com Pomegranate Europe Ltd. Unit 1, Heathcote Business Centre, Hurlbutt Road Warwick, Warwickshire CV34 6TD, UK [+44] 0 1926 430111 sales@pomeurope.co.uk Printed in China