Taliesin West, 820nm IR - Part 1

For Mother's Day my boys took me to check out Frank Lloyd Wright's winter home here in Arizona - Taliesin West!

I love Wright and the whole philosophy behind Organic Architecture. This is the third Wright home I have visited. We toured Fallingwater in Mill Run, PA back in 2019 and, on the same trip, saw the Robie House on the campus of University of Chicago. Both are absolutely beautiful homes - Taliesin West, as well!

Though it is obviously still a masterpiece, I must admit this home has taken a beating from our desert climate. The beams don't fit quite as perfectly anymore and many of the Chinese scupltures built into the facade were significantly aged from exposure. However, the overall structure is still magnificent and the spirit of Wright is certainly everywhere. I absolutely loved this tour and highly recommend it to any architecture fan who happens to visit Phoenix (though think carefully about what time of year you visit - even early May was uncomfortably hot). 

Here are some IR photos from the first half of the tour.

This is the fountain that greets visitors when you first arrive. It's huge and quite lovely.

This is Wright's formal office. It was such an airy room, but still felt cozy. Gorgeous. 

This is the cabaret fountain and courtyard outside of his office facing the back of the house. 

As you continue walking south, you arrive at the side view of the drafting room. The west side of the house is where most of the working areas were located. Notice how the beams and windows are stacked and the lights perfectly uniform. It's like an infinity mirror effect. 

This is the west front facade, front door, and pool. Because of it's angular shape, they call it the Prow. Absolutely gorgeous. 

This is the east side of the front facade. The east side is where the Wrights' living areas were primarily located. 

This is the view looking south from the front door. Curiously, even though Taliesin West is located on the outskirts of Scottsdale, the view is not that dramatically different from how it looked when he built the house.

In Part 2, we'll take a look at the rest of the areas we were allowed to visit! :)