Building from Nature

In 1937, when Wright began working on Taliesin West, he had been running an architecture school for several years from Taliesin, his home in Wisconsin. Wright, who at that point was 70, was becoming tired of the Midwest’s bitterly cold winters. He decided to build a compound in the warm Southwest as a winter home for himself and the school.

However, transporting materials to the remote site from far away would be costly and impractical. So Wright decided to build mostly using the natural materials he saw around him in the desert: sand and rocks. To create both exterior and interior walls, “Wright made large wooden boxes, placed stones in them, packed a damp mixture of cement and sand around the stones, and then allowed them to dry under the desert sun to a nice hard finish,” explains Niki Stewart, vice president of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation.

Wright began working on Taliesin West in 1937, when he was 70 years old. At the time, he ran an architecture school in Taliesin, Wisconsin. But Wright was tired of the freezing cold winters in the Midwest. He decided to build a compound in Arizona where he and his students could spend the winter. 

Bringing materials to the site would be expensive and difficult. So Wright used materials that were already in the desert—sand and rocks. “Wright made large wooden boxes, placed stones in them, packed a damp mixture of cement and sand around the stones,” says Niki Stewart of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. The desert sun dried the mixture into hard blocks. Then Wright used them to build walls.

Just as Wright always thought about his materials, he also considered how the finished structure would become one with its surrounding environment. With its long buildings and flat roofs, Taliesin West seamlessly blends with the desert landscape.

Canvas roofs allow the natural sunlight to brighten many of the interior spaces. And the walkways and terraces that connect the various buildings create a sense of unity between the interior and exterior spaces. 

Just as Wright focused on how his work would fit into the existing landscape, he also thought about the small details within each structure. He took a holistic approach to architecture, designing everything from the blueprints (structural diagrams) to the furniture, light fixtures, and decorations. For Taliesin West, these details were all inspired by and created to become one with the desert environment. 

Wright wanted his buildings to feel like part of their environments. That’s why he designed Taliesin West with long buildings and flat roofs. It blends in with the desert landscape. 

Wright made many of the roofs at Taliesin West out of canvas. This material allows sunlight to shine through and brighten rooms. Walkways and terraces connect the buildings. This creates a sense of unity between the indoor and outdoor spaces. Wright took a holistic approach to architecture. This means he thought about how the small details relate to the whole design. He designed everything himself, from the first blueprints (structural diagrams) to the furniture, lighting, and decorations. For Taliesin West, these details were all inspired by the desert.