Frank Lloyd Wright and Taliesin West
Posted by Belle on 22 Jul 2007 at 09:18 pm | Tagged as: AZ, travels
Learn the art of seeing, which of course is another form of being, it is the most wonderful resource in the world. You become an independent being in your own right.
Then, standing on that site, look about you so that you see what has charm. What is the reason you want to build there? Find out. Then build your house so that you may still look from where you stood upon all that charmed you and lose nothing of what you saw before the house was built but see more. Frank Lloyd Wright
Today, we had a tour of Taliesin West in Scottsdale, AZ. (Taliesin, pronounced TALLY EHSSEN, literally means “shining brow” in Welsh, the nationality of Wright’s ancestors. Taliesin West was conceived by the famous architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, and his apprentices as a “desert camp” where they intended to live permanently during winter to evade the harsh Wisconsin weather. Frank was originally from Wisconsin and came to Arizona in 1937.
He introduced beauty, health, tranquility, and harmony into the built environment. His goal was to integrate the structures with the “Nature” of the desert, its soul, and its physical features.
He called his work “organic,” showing that all parts should relate to the whole- that architecture must be appropriate to the time, place, and man.
He also introduced the concept of “compress and release”. I noticed that the door entrances are only 5′9″ in height, with narrow hallways. If you are six feet tall, you have to “compress” and duck your head. My BIL who is six feet tall wasn’t too happy about watching his head every time he approached the door. My husband said that it reminded him of some houses in Catanduanes. Anyway, the idea is to make the visitor feel uncomfortable and encourage them to move out of the hallway and proceed to a larger room, hence, the “release.” Catch the drift?
I was really impressed of his architectural style because of its natural beauty. His idea of “organic structure” fascinated me. You could see the raw beauty of the rocks, and its natural colors. The house is like an extension of the environment. It is rugged, irregular, and super strong. It is simply beautiful! Mr. Wright hated the idea of being in a square box like you see in most houses, so you don’t see any internal walls in his rooms.
During the tour, I learned that Frank Lloyd Wright owned a lot of stuff but was never rich. In fact, he always resorted to borrowing money from his friends. For him, luxury came first while necessity was secondary. Do any of you agree with his thinking?
Let the pictures do the rest of the talking.
office
living room
cabaret
theater
bedroom..notice how tiny the beds are and with a wall in between???
claustrophobic door entrance
Wow! Impressive architecture indeed. I love home designs, the kind of houses that you would never want to leave just to laid back.
Oh, beautifully weird! But these genius eccentrics could get away with these stuff because of the beauty that they produce.
Great photos Ate Belle. I love organic feeling stuff, makes me feel at home. I would prefer a more rounded design though(like your front fascade @ the Phils)
i could be his fan as i love earth colors and he uses a lot of brown. i don’t agree with his luxury first, necessity second thought, but i do agree that he created such a homey house (except for the bedroom hehe).
K, i actually like the looks of the wall. very very sturdy, simple, and beautiful. it should be able to withstand super typhoon.
toe, you are right..it is weird. Frank was weird, too, as a person. he preferred low tables over the normal height.
KK, thanks! i love organic architecture, too especially the kind that doesn’t need maintenanace like his. but i don’t like his idea of compressed entrance for safety concerns.
Zherwin, that is exactly the reason why he was never rich because he satisfied his luxury desires first. i was wondering why he designed the beds the weird way. something tells me that his lovelife wasn’t that great otherwise why put a wall in between his and her bed.
Uhhmmm I don’t agree with Zherwin that the house is homey hehe I mean it’s a beautiful structure but personally I can’t say it’s homey. It’s like if I live in that house, I would be scared to touch the furnitures or the walls coz they look so expensive, I might damage it or something hehe
but beautiful Belle
One of my favorite American architects, actually. Fallingwater is my favorite. MoMA once exhibited some of the scale models of structures he had designed.
I love the architecture but I’m not so sure about the low doorways, although I wouldn’t have a problem with that because I’m not tall.
I also have a different way of thinking. For me necessity comes first over luxury.
That’s a very interesting and unique architectural style. The concept behind the structure sounds really good. I like the idea of embracing beauty, health, tranquility and harmony where you live.