Taliesin at Spring Green
Roadboy's Travels © 2019
Over the years when asked why I became an architect, my answer contains a lot of parts, but one facet was experiencing a Frank Lloyd Wright building in San Francisco when I was about five years old.
Now, having practiced architecture for thirty nine years (sheesh!), I have come to realize that architecture is one of very few professions where our work tends to get better the longer we practice.
While young practitioners tend to be overly influenced by whatever the cool kids are doing, the old ones (moi) tend to know what has worked for them. So we draw inspiration from more timeless influences while blowing off fads.
While young practitioners tend to be overly influenced by whatever the cool kids are doing, the old ones (moi) tend to know what has worked for them. So we draw inspiration from more timeless influences while blowing off fads.
For me, a big part of the joy of architecture has been the process of finding and absorbing inspiration in the work and vision of others. Last month I visited works by some extraordinary Danish, Swedish and Finnish master architects. And, much of their work was a refreshing reminder of how architecture can create joy.
Fast forward.
Throughout my life I've had various opportunities to visit many of the remarkable buildings designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. I've dsort of been checking them off my mental list one by one.
Throughout my life I've had various opportunities to visit many of the remarkable buildings designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. I've dsort of been checking them off my mental list one by one.
Three of them left on my list.....
Taliesin - Wright's Wisconsin home, studio and school in Spring Green
The Johnson Wax Offices in Racine, Wisconsin.
The Price Tower in Bartlesville, Oklahoma (his only highrise - now operated as a hotel).
This week on Wednesday I was able to check off Taliesin.
Taliesin Viewed From The Pond Below
Viewed From the Central Lawn
Wright Tucked The House Into The Hillside
Taliesin (Welsh translation: shining brow) was the prairie style residence Wright completed in 1911 on land owned by his mother. His intention was to create a residence where he could live in privacy with Mamah (his mistress) after both had left spouses and abandoned their children.
The Studio
The privacy ended when Chicago newspapers headlined their "scandal" on Christmas Day. That publicity also drew attention to Taliesin; his daring new hillside home and studio.
Taliesin was a laboratory where Wright would test his ideas as well as the site of his life's biggest heartbreaks.
A Corner "Window" That is Actually a Door in Wright's Studio
The Studio's Conferencing Area
Crossing From Studio Into The Residence
Wright Was Short
Period
The Quartet Music Table
Part of the Living Room
What we view today is actually the third version of the home. The first building (the 1911 Taliesin) was destroyed during a mass murder that resulted in the death of Mamah, her two young children, various draftsmen (and one of their children) and carpenters who were on the site. All were killed with an axe by a mentally deranged servant who then set the bodies and house on fire. Most of the structure was destroyed.
The Dining Area
Also Part of the Main Living Area
After a period of physical and emotional trauma, Wright resolved to rebuild a new Taliesin. The new Taliesin was completed in 1914 and was notable as his break from the Prairie Style he invented and was famous for.
One of Wright's Corner Windows
Seat Cushions Raised Illustrating Furnishings Made From Old Recycled Site Signs
He lived in the house periodically during that time between the time he spent living at various construction sites (including his Imperial Hotel in Tokyo).
Just eleven years later, in 1925, Taliesin II was nearly destroyed in an electrical fire.
Taliesin was again rebuilt in late 1925 as the structure we see today.
Two years later in 1927 Taliesin III was foreclosed on by the Bank of Wisconsin. The house and land was repurchased with the financial help of various clients and admirers.
The Birdwalk From the Living Room
In every iteration Taliesin was used to explore his design ideas. It was always a work in progress using the labor of the students at his fellowship. Their enthusiasm was not always accompanied by the construction skills needed and the house has suffered from improper foundation design, and floods causing the need for costly on-going restoration efforts.
Taliesin, being expansive and costly to heat, became Wright's summer home after he built Taliesin West in Scottsdale in 1937 (where Wright would move his school and spend his winters until his death).
Taliesin, being expansive and costly to heat, became Wright's summer home after he built Taliesin West in Scottsdale in 1937 (where Wright would move his school and spend his winters until his death).
The Birdwalk From the Bedroom Terraces
Wright's architecture studio at Taliesin is where he created some of his most iconic design's including: Midway Gardens, The Johnson Wax Building, Fallingwater at Bear Run, the Coonley Playhouse and the Solomon R. Gugenheim Museum.
The Adjacent Barn and Stables
At Taliesin Wright would meet with clients and friends that frequently stayed on as houseguests. Wright's guests at Taliesin included R. Buckminster Fuller, Solomon R. Guggenheim and Lugwig Mies Van Der Rohe.
Taliesin was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site just a few days before my tour.
