The “Hanging Tent”: student housing at Taliesin West. Sculptural, but becomes an oven at first light.
One of the more extraordinary elements of the unique pedagogical approach to architecture at Taliesin West is the student housing. It was part of Frank Lloyd Wright’s design vision to imbed his apprentices in the landscape, to let them learn from the land, the wind, sun and shadow, soil and sky, the sight, sound and smell of it, the plants and animals of it, and to let the landscape reveal itself as inspiration for designing shelter that is positioned deeply within the context of its site.
This tradition carries through to the present day. Most of the 30 or so graduate students live in very small shelters that dot the open desert a good distance from the main Taliesin West compound. Though the scale is modest, often only large enough for sleeping quarters and a fire pit, the designs range from spartan to contemporary to totally outlandish. Students are invited to design and build their own if they so choose.
Moving among them is like walking in a large desert sculpture garden. But as I see them I am called to wonder – how much did the designers heed Wright’s call to let the design emerge from the landscape? How heavy is the hand — and central is the vision — of the designer in these shelters the students call home? You tell me…
One of the original tents from FLLW’s day. Much more modest than today’s versions.
The designer who created this has gone into business making these sorts of tents. You’ve probably seen one…
Tent shelter interior. Form inspired by nearby mountain ranges.
Another nice one, even though the students think of Pizza Hut when they see this one.
A professor challenged a designer to build a perfect cube. The interior planes of this shelter is said to be just that.
Nifty sculpture but it doesn’t provide enough shelter to be usable.
A modern update on a small miner’s cabin.
This glass sliding door faces east, turning this shelter into a sweltering oven first thing in the morning. Why?
This one is brushing up against suburban Scottsdale, which is inexorably marching toward Taliesin from several sides.
WTF? Is that a monumental rendition of FLLW’s colon?
Maybe also a greenhouse…
The Dean stays in this one from time to time. It has a fake lawn cantilevered over the arroyo.
My favorite and perhaps the most successful.
Cor-ten works well in the desert. The solid wall faces south and east to create a buffer from the heat.
This one is to me the most like a FLLW building, who was an expert at shadow and sun.
A fallen shelter slowly absorbing into the desert.