Frank Lloyd Wright chose a remote location, which was at that time 15 miles from Scottsdale (population 200 then), for his winter home. He bought 600 acres of land, mostly chosen because of the rocks available to build his house and a fault line he discovered, where he could drill for water.
Most walls are rock and concrete as picture 1 shows. The roofs are canvas, some of which can be rolled back. And the house originally had no windows—open to the outdoors. Mrs. Wright, however, insisted on windows, when she found bobcats and other “critters” taking up residence when she returned one winter.
The “front” of the house is shown in Picture 2. When AZ put in power lines and disrupted his view in the late 40s (Picture 3), the “front” became the “back” and walls were built in living and dining rooms so he didn’t have to look at the power lines. Wright called the governor and told him to bury them. The governor replied that he had no money for this. So Wright called Harry Truman, who politely told him that he had more important things to think about.
The other side of the house is shown in Picture 4. The pergola shades the dining room and apprentices’ studio. The apprentice program, which started in the late 30s, continues today as an accredited Masters Degree program. The program was started because the Wrights’ had no money, having spent it all on Oriental art and cars. Wright had 85 cars in his lifetime, all painted a particular shade of red. He was a horrible driver and felt that stop signs and speed limits were suggestions. In a short period of time he had 30 accidents and, thereafter, Mrs. Wright drove.
Picture 5 is the living room. All chairs, benches, tables and stools were projects for apprentices and none of the seating was very comfortable. What you can’t see are the 2 chairs Mrs. Wright purchased for comfort.
When windows were installed, a problem in the living room was encountered. Wright had 2 pots that he placed on narrow shelves and they became problematic because the curvature hung over the shelves and he refused to widen the shelves and moved the pots. He challenged his apprentices and the solution is shown in Figure 6.
Pictures 7 and 8 show Wright’s bedroom and bathroom. The brushed aluminum walls in the bathroom were found on the side of the road and recycled. The unusual divided bed in the bedroom had a special purpose. Wright only slept 2-3 hours per night, but often took 15-minute “power” naps during the day. Apprentices were allowed to visit him in his bedroom and used a window opposite the bed to determine if it was OK to visit. The far side of the bed was used for his “big” sleeps of 2-3 hours and if an apprentice looked in the window and saw him there, they would not disturb him. If he was on the near side of the bed it was a 15-minute nap and they were welcome to disturb him.
Finally, Picture 9 shows one of the apprentice lodgings. All apprentices lived away from the main house in very rustic conditions, i.e., tents. Some apprentices, however, used the experience to develop architecturally and developed more substantial accommodations. Unique lodgings are sprinkled throughout the desert away from the main house.
Wright is an interesting man. We didn’t always like him, but you can’t deny the genius.
