Tatiana12
Taliesin West tour
Wright believed that life and architecture were inextricably intertwined, that, in his words, "architecture is life; or at least it is life taking form." So, in 1932, in an effort to teach that philosophy as well as raise some much-needed cash, he and his wife, Olgivanna, founded what they called the Taliesin Fellowship, a school and community for aspiring architects at his home in Spring Green, Wisconsin. The students, or apprentices, as the Wrights called them, were involved in nearly every aspect of what they envisioned as a self-sufficient community: from cooking and cleaning to growing food to quarrying the stone, mixing the mortar and cutting the trees used to build a new studio.
In 1937, Wright and the apprentices used native rock and sand to build Taliesin West, their winter camp outside of Scottsdale, which is now considered one of his finest architectural achievements, and they began to split their time between the midwest and the desert. Critics compared the arrangement to a southern slave plantation, but the apprentices saw it as a golden opportunity to learn from a master.
Though Wright died in 1959, and his wife, who remained at Taliesin's helm, died in 1985, the Fellowship lives on. There are about 20 apprentices, as the students are still known within the community. Roughly half of them are Bachelor of Architectural Studies degree candidates, and the rest are candidates for Master of Architecture degrees. They continue to travel back and forth between the two architectural landmarks, where they live with members of the Taliesin Fellowship, 19 of whom studied with Wright himself.
There are also about 120 employees-tour guides, architects, faculty and staff-who work, and in some cases live, at both Taliesins and a satellite architectural office in Madison, Wisconsin. Just as their predecessors did, the apprentices continue to immerse themselves in the three aspects of their education: construction, which provides practical training; studio work at Taliesin Architects, the on-site firm that descended from Wright's practice, where they learn and apply theory and design skills; and community involvement, which, along with lectures, presentations and independent studies, is Taliesin's answer to the liberal arts, and is considered a cornerstone of the school's mission.
Source: www.highereducation.org/crosstalk/ct0101/frankwright.shtml
According the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, the architect was 70 when he purchased hundreds of acres at the foot of the McDowell Mountains in 1938. “Inspired by the southwestern landscape, Wright sought a ‘nobly simple’ architecture in Taliesin West. Primitive but elegant, Taliesin West’s monumental masonry feels as much an ancient ruin unearthed from the Sonoran desert, as the twentieth-century icon of modern architecture that it has become,” says the foundation’s website.
In his own autobiography, Wright wrote, “Just imagine what it would be like on top of the world looking over the universe at sunrise or at sunset with clear sky in between. Light and air bathing all the worlds of creation in all the color there ever was – all the shapes and outlines ever devised – neither let nor hindrance to imagination – nothing to imagine – all beyond the reach of the finite mind. Well, that was our place on the mesa and our buildings had to fit in.”
Wright’s winter camp expanded over the years to include studios and residential, dining, and performance spaces – all which served the active community of the Fellowship.
Many who study and work at Taliesin also live and work on the property year round.
“We do have to work very hard to balance the values and the principles and the work that Wright created from 1938 to 1959 with modern day needs,” said Fred Prozzillo, Director of Preservation at the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation.
A 2015 master plan includes a goal to raise millions each year to “preserve, restore, and rehabilitate buildings, spaces and site features” most significant to Wright’s work.
Source: includes a 2015 video and article on preservation efforts is here: cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2015/11/13/more-than-75-years-afte...
Taliesin West tour
Wright believed that life and architecture were inextricably intertwined, that, in his words, "architecture is life; or at least it is life taking form." So, in 1932, in an effort to teach that philosophy as well as raise some much-needed cash, he and his wife, Olgivanna, founded what they called the Taliesin Fellowship, a school and community for aspiring architects at his home in Spring Green, Wisconsin. The students, or apprentices, as the Wrights called them, were involved in nearly every aspect of what they envisioned as a self-sufficient community: from cooking and cleaning to growing food to quarrying the stone, mixing the mortar and cutting the trees used to build a new studio.
In 1937, Wright and the apprentices used native rock and sand to build Taliesin West, their winter camp outside of Scottsdale, which is now considered one of his finest architectural achievements, and they began to split their time between the midwest and the desert. Critics compared the arrangement to a southern slave plantation, but the apprentices saw it as a golden opportunity to learn from a master.
Though Wright died in 1959, and his wife, who remained at Taliesin's helm, died in 1985, the Fellowship lives on. There are about 20 apprentices, as the students are still known within the community. Roughly half of them are Bachelor of Architectural Studies degree candidates, and the rest are candidates for Master of Architecture degrees. They continue to travel back and forth between the two architectural landmarks, where they live with members of the Taliesin Fellowship, 19 of whom studied with Wright himself.
There are also about 120 employees-tour guides, architects, faculty and staff-who work, and in some cases live, at both Taliesins and a satellite architectural office in Madison, Wisconsin. Just as their predecessors did, the apprentices continue to immerse themselves in the three aspects of their education: construction, which provides practical training; studio work at Taliesin Architects, the on-site firm that descended from Wright's practice, where they learn and apply theory and design skills; and community involvement, which, along with lectures, presentations and independent studies, is Taliesin's answer to the liberal arts, and is considered a cornerstone of the school's mission.
Source: www.highereducation.org/crosstalk/ct0101/frankwright.shtml
According the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, the architect was 70 when he purchased hundreds of acres at the foot of the McDowell Mountains in 1938. “Inspired by the southwestern landscape, Wright sought a ‘nobly simple’ architecture in Taliesin West. Primitive but elegant, Taliesin West’s monumental masonry feels as much an ancient ruin unearthed from the Sonoran desert, as the twentieth-century icon of modern architecture that it has become,” says the foundation’s website.
In his own autobiography, Wright wrote, “Just imagine what it would be like on top of the world looking over the universe at sunrise or at sunset with clear sky in between. Light and air bathing all the worlds of creation in all the color there ever was – all the shapes and outlines ever devised – neither let nor hindrance to imagination – nothing to imagine – all beyond the reach of the finite mind. Well, that was our place on the mesa and our buildings had to fit in.”
Wright’s winter camp expanded over the years to include studios and residential, dining, and performance spaces – all which served the active community of the Fellowship.
Many who study and work at Taliesin also live and work on the property year round.
“We do have to work very hard to balance the values and the principles and the work that Wright created from 1938 to 1959 with modern day needs,” said Fred Prozzillo, Director of Preservation at the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation.
A 2015 master plan includes a goal to raise millions each year to “preserve, restore, and rehabilitate buildings, spaces and site features” most significant to Wright’s work.
Source: includes a 2015 video and article on preservation efforts is here: cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2015/11/13/more-than-75-years-afte...