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We felt the presence of 20th century's greatest architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, as we approached Taliesin West on the Sonoran desert. Indeed, the first time we visited the site a number of years ago, we saw Wright himself on the grounds.
This warm January day, we marveled again at the remarkable structures that are still being used for the purposes for which they were designed-a living, working, educational facility, along with an on-site architectural firm.
It was during the 1930s Depression that Wright and his wife Olgivanna first began an apprenticeship program at Wright's Spring Green, Wisconsin, home/studio. It was called Taliesin East. Taliesin, pronounced TALLY EHSSEN, means "shining brow" in Welsh, reflecting Wright's heritage. It was established to create a total learning environment where apprentices could engage in architecture, construction, farming and the study of all the arts.
Wright believed in the complete development of the individual, since future architects must meet with clients and be skilled in the social graces and in conversation.
Today apprentices take turns setting the tables for dinner, making aesthetic arrangements of centerpieces and dishes. Musicians and performing artists often provide cultural enrichment during the evenings.
Wright went to the Southwest in 1927 to consult on designs for the Arizona Biltmore and later spent time at a temporary site he called "Ocatilla" near Chandler. In 1937 he acquired 600 acres of desert at the foothills of the McDowell Mountains near Scottsdale. With his apprentices he began constructing Taliesin West as winter camp to escape the harsh Wisconsin weather.
Here, his philosophy integrated the buildings with the surroundings. His apprentices learned by doing. Work on the main complex at Taliesin West began in 193738, and the original construction was finished by 1940. Wright continued to add buildings and make changes until he died in 1959.
Wright, in writing about Taliesin West, noted that he was struck by the desert's beauty, by the dry, clear, sun-drenched land and air, and by the stark geometry of the mountains. The sloping walls of the structures and the upturned beams reflect the forms of the mountains behind them. The broad walks linking the buildings and terraces create a feeling of openness, echoing the spaciousness of the surrounding desert.
Wright believed that materials should be...