Saturday, April 25, 2009

Axis and Taliesin West

Here is another photo of Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West. You can see the integration of the building into nature.  The lines and angles are quite remarkable.

Wright wanted to live in the desert environment. For many of the years he lived there, Wright had the buildings open with no glass in the windows so that one really lived in an outdoor desert camp. 

Wright did not have a lot of money when they started building this camp, so they relied on inexpensive construction materials on site, such as desert masonry. Desert masonry involved collecting stones, rocks, and sand from the desert washes and placing them in wooden forms with concrete to make walls or foundations.

Wright determined that the site and its relation to the mountain range to the north would be orientation for structures.  The axis is derived from the north mountain range, from the west for the sunset, and looking east to Black Mountain and Granite Reef Mountain.  

Wright never placed a building on a direct north-south axis.  Otherwise, it would have a hot side (south) and a cold side (north).

By tilting the plan off the direct compass points, Wright was able to capture the sun and shade changing regularly throughout all of the rooms and vistas at all times of the year. 

For more information or to schedule a public tour, click Taliesin West. 

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think I might have said it here once before, I really like this man's work. He used to have live-in classes in his style of architecture and those graduates must be out there doing his work to this day. I guess it is in the name and none of their names resonates like Frank Lloyd Wright.

Kate said...

Your photos for this series have been wonderful and opens the door to a beautiful site. Thanks!

henny said...

Julie, long time no see :).
Where are you now? Morocco? Everybody's going to Morocco except me.
Love the house, mostly because like you said no windows (but has openings, right?). Must be great to have a house that captures the sun lights in every room.

Lois said...

I love the earthy colors that he used for the house. The stones used around the pool are so nice and the water looks very inviting!

robert said...

Truly a harmoney rarely seen, makes me think that sometimes buidings and nature could become 'better humans'.

Sharon said...

I like this view. It really shows how it blends in with the desert. Well, except for the pool maybe.

Lowell said...

He was one very smart man and it is a delight to make the acquaintance of this beautiful desert home!

Thank you!

gogouci said...

Such a beautifully designed and constructed structure. Thanks for sharing.

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