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.