Survivalist tiny dorms at Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin architecture school
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.พ. 2025
- Since Frank Lloyd Wright began building Taliesin West- his winter home and school in the desert-, students have been living in canvas tents as an alternative dorm. It was direct study of nature and the land, both important elements of Wright’s organic architecture.
Today the Shelter Program has evolved and students can design and build more complicated structures (they’re given a $1000 stipend and encouraged to raise more), but the small shelters continue to be off-grid, unplumbed, and often without walls. This direct contact with the desert helps students confront just what is needed to provide shelter. “To me an architect is a man who,” wrote Wright in his autobiography, “knows the secrets of nature and studies them, is informed by them and comes out stronger with knowledge.”
Stephanie Schull, director of academic affairs at the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture, gave us a tour of a few of the 60 odd shelters (Note: We appreciate her giving us an impromptu tour and want to make clear that the opinions she gave during the interview were her opinions and not part of any school philosophy).
Taliesin Shelter Program www.taliesin.ed...
Original story: faircompanies.c...
For each student of architecture this is an experience of a lifetime.
Kirsten, I just want to say you are a great documentary filmmaker. I really appreciate the way you let people tell their stories without nifty editing or cutting people off. It really allows us to feel like we are part of the experience. I've been watching for 1 or 2 years now and have never actually commented. So, thanks for all your hard work.
Just did a full tour of the Frank Lloyd Wright Taliesin house and I may say absolutely no disappointments!!!.
What amazing architecture !!!.
Such a wonderful tour and a great time we had .
Sipping tea at the little cafe in the warm spring Arizona weather overlooking such a beautiful amazing structures and Landscaping was probably one of the most impressive memories I will ever have .
What a great staff too !!!.
A++++
Love the story behind the suspended tent ~ it's sort of the ultimate in passive-aggressive architecture. : )
In my head i am hearing the B52s sing 'Love shack' 😉
years ago one of my children were one of these students .I still love listening to her stories out there.
I lived 5 miles away. I made friends with a "few rattle snakes". I spent many winter nights sleeping on my porch looking across the valley at Taliesin West. I love the Desert. It takes time to adjust to the nothiness and then you realise the significant eco stystms at work.
LOL, all I could think about while watching this video!!!! Coyotes, lizards, rattlesnakes!!!!. What a freaking nightmare😰
Robin Bradley ha ha ha!
@@robinbradley2229 Nah. What an exciting opportunity to meet other beings with whom we share the planet. I did an 11 day sojourn in the desert in 2018 in Aravaipa Canyon. It was wonderful. Slept in my sleeping bag on the ground partially under a tarp suspended from low lying trees and rocks.
uscgalpha91 I own property nearby as well. The wild horses wander up from the Verde river and graze across my land. Little lizards come right up to me and then do funny little pushups to get my attention. Rattle snakes stretch out straight to sun themselves and I accidentally walk over them thinking they are sticks. In winter, bright red Gogi berries grow on the desert bushes surrounding my property for as far as the eyes can see. The wash runs through my property like a raging river during a monsoon. Yes, it’s magical out there.
D. Mills have you seen snakes hypnotized by the sun?
I would have LOVE to attend, Kristen I read today, Talisien was closed, and the school was moved. I thank you so much for having done this piece for eternity. Give it the value it deserves.
Many of the commenters seem angry about what they perceive as the impracticality of the structures. But these buildings are student exercises. The point of living in them is learning from them. And sometimes the seemingly obvious modifications we make distract us from bigger issues. These buildings are intellectual exercises, they encourage THINKING.
My question is, what's with all the concrete? Hello! Adobe! Even the folks at Arcosanti will tell you about the thermal failings of concrete in a desert. (Kirsten, you did go to Arcosanti? If you didn't yet, DO!)
The biggest problem with doing adobe at Taliesin West is that there is very little soil. There is much more sand and rocks, which makes concrete much more practical in this setting because you just have to add in lyme and water. Otherwise, you would have to truck in loads of dirt to make the adobe. Both Cosanti and Arcosanti have much more soil at their sites, which allows them to utilize it as a building material.
RistPhoto I didn't think they did much adobe at Arcosanti, I thought the deal there was concrete.
I don't know much about the logistics of building with concrete. I was thinking about the thermal aspects of the material. I would have thought you'd have to haul in more materials for concrete. Live & learn. Thanks!
Not now. The desert environment is too fragile to have generations of students raiding it for materials.
They could be so much more than 'good intentions' if people started to vote Libertarian. Let property rights prevail, and get rid of old archaic building codes that allow the government and their friends to monopolize.
Ellen Bulger - i don’t need some bullshit explanation again... this broad already covered it.
Huge F.L.W. fan / follower... this was an amazing journey, I did not want the video to end...
I designed my own home 1200 sq ft. Using a lot of FLW styles in northern Arizona. Blending in with the nature and the environment.
Love the philosophy in this method of teaching: ingrained into the student what is truly needed in a shelter or home.
Some of these shelters are quite inspiring to see. Thank you for sharing these videos with us!
We enjoyed a tour of TALIESIN West a couple of years ago but I remember no mention of the student built accommodations. Very cool.
This is one of my favorite of your videos Kirsten - many favorites really. I like the pause for what the evening turned into. Would add some of the souls who lived there - but you can always do a sequel.
Enjoyed this. Thanks. Oh Yes, I’ll bet cold and desert poisonous critters are real problem. McDowell mountain range is the scorpion capital of the world. I lived in the other side of them in Fountain Hills and we had everything imaginable in our yard. It sure is pretty there however. Cheers!
Absolutely captivating. Thank you for posting. I am richer for having seen your video.
I just want to thank you for making such a good archive of this work. It's very hard to find in the internet, so thank you.
Thanks for the look at Frank "Lord" Wright's school dorms. He has been a hero to me because of his genius in Architecture and all parts design. When l was studying him in school, he amazed me with all the work he compleated. In the mid West we have many of his Prairie Houses dotting our cities, Chicago has the most. Thanks for a view at rustic FLW school in the desert.
Thanks so much x the video. Owesome. im from Paraguay. El sur también existe
Thanks so much Kirsten. This was a delight. Your film making style really conveys a sense of place.
would really like to see a more detailed tour of the shelters themselves with insights into how they were constructed
Thanks you both (Kristen Dirksen for the uploaded vid and also to Stephanie Schull for her time). The place reminds me of the outside of my hometown (there are no much deserts in all Europe, btw). Very interesting vid, as usual. :)
I love those structures. This is the best way to teach students about architecture and how it affects the earth and nature around it. I would love to see some designs in use after learning from this school's curriculum.
"our walls can trap things in".
Funny. That's how I feel about my mortgage.
Andrew Krause How are Scorpions like Houdini? Both can get into or out of anything anytime they want. Walls don't stop them.
I love my Arizona home but, after 25 years, I just want out of the mortgage cycle.
That’s how I feel about our country, right now. Even the world, some days. Where can we go to get away from oppression and strife? Poisons and cancers? Huge egos and oligarchs?!
Linda Cianchetti my thoughts the past three years, exactly. I’m always searching for a way off the hamster wheel.
Andrew Krause . I call it debt slavery. I have been living in my minivan while saving for a tiny cheap bit of land. Then save for a tiny cheap house. I love my minivan
Absolutely outstanding. Love Wright, Taliesin, and the educational thought process required in building and surviving in a desert tiny dorm.
Kirsten I very much enjoy your videos and I think for me this was one of the best I've seen. Thank you for what you do, you are enriching the experiences of people all over the internet 😀
The comment section astounds me here. People aren't getting what the lady said, that the concept of living with less was meant to teach the students about what is needed vs what is wanted in design.
Yeah once I heard her say that's what it was for, I was like "Ohhhh I see now." And really, you learn the most from actual action and experience.
+Anon Y. Mous ha ha ... What isn't a cult these days?
noone needs shit, and everyone shall STOP commenting on this! Getting notified months later is ridiculous stop scrimmaging. Have a good day! whatthe%^&*
So much of a persons opinion is shaped by the bias of his or her own experiences and expectations. It is quite common and effortless to perceive the inefficiencies or waste, the flaws and the shortcomings of others. It is much more difficult and admirable to undertake and complete something of one's own.
I did not know the connection between FLW and Gurdjieff. FLW himself was known to be quite egotistical and abusive. Calling Gurdjieff's school a mind control cult brings up the wrong image. It wasn't that Gurdjieff was trying to control his students' thinking for them, he was trying to get them to wake up and control their own minds. We all get into habituated thought patterns, ruts that lead our minds around in circles. Gurdjieff tried to help his students recognize when they were in such a rut and break out.
I'm from this area and the desert is nowhere near as fragile as this lady suggests, one good rain and you'll see an amazing amount of growth within a week, to the point you won't even recognize it. As for these structures, I see this as a architectual concept Proving Ground kind of thing.
Ok sir thanks for letting us know
You have to have a liberal bent to understand how fragile it is and how bad humans are.
@@TheChadWork2001 fragile like every other landscape I guess, but it's not going to all go away if you touch it. I lived near Joshua Tree for 3 years. It's adapted to flash floods, hellacious wind storms, and occasional snow. Humans, obviously, aren't good for the environment. Like hades said, it rained for about 2 days straight, and about a week later, it was the greenest I'd ever seen. It was amazing. Then it got back up to 100F and burned all the humidity out, that was not amazing.
@@TheChadWork2001 Lol 👍
I attended FLLW for nearly 4 years and preferred to live in the desert shelters than the rooms they had available. Until you experience what that's like, you really can't have a valid opinion, just merely a vapid observation. I recognized a lot of the older structures and remember the friends that had worked on them. I never had a problem with scorpions or rattlesnakes.
Exceptional share of various values for thought, learning, understanding, experiencing.
Appreciate the share.
I liked the way you narrated the Art School of Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture, it was really AWESOME! It REALLY amazed me how many of the different types of tiny dorms that some of the students made from October til May through the years. Then the school gives the students $1000 plus have to get grant money, asking other people for money or by asking in your community for help that's just that is really interesting. I guess you really have to have a gift, a knack, and the know how. I imagine this is how its done: First, you write for grants. Second, how to ask people for money. Then third, how to ask people in your community for things you need so you can use it advantage, which what your trying to accomplish for your tiny dorm architecture.
Course, I been poor all my life, so I don't know to ask for help when I needed it maybe that's why. Maybe that's why I am strughling now in school and running out of my money and I need to finish and don't know how to write for my scholarships, but when do I write for them I have gotten any responses. I guess there is a special way in getting them. But, I don't know the secret.
Yes, by all means, don't go out and work for the money. Get Uncle Sugar or stand at an intersection with a beggars sign.
Astonished at the negative comments below. Thank you for this video. I will watch it again.
Excellent video. I visited here a few years back and loved the environment FLW created. A great architect.
I've watched this 3 times...I could watch it again! Great tour, please do another!
I would have done anything to go to a school like this!
Awesome
+Papa Mac you still can.
Just wonder into the desert and you are there.
Sophia A. I laughed much harder than I should have at that comment.
Thanks for documenting so many amazing places around the planet
is there any footage of when the students are actually living in the dorms? I would love to here what they have to say and what the think after there stay.
Currently at the student campus and it’s incredibly insightful to see in person! Thank you for the great content
Very impressed with Ms. Schull's narration and the video. Felt like I was there.
i love this! its for corageous people, for those who liberated their minds from material to live and discover their wings! thank u!
HristosIisusEdomnul I'm sorry but I must disagree. You should see some of the crap this guy designed and stuck the taxpayers of Arizona with.
Thanks for making this video, I remember I saw some photos of some of these shelters and I thought they were the coolest things ever and I wanted to know more about them and why they were made etc. Very interesting and cool.
Kirsten, I'm so glad you've covered this story! One of the least known incredible design stories ever.
Always have loved FLW's work. Even in furniture! Always bigger than the parts. Intuitive.
i LOVE this video -- i only wish *I* had had such materials when *I* had been at Taliesin West when i was a sophomore... THANK YOU!!!
In high school I took a Humanities class & was taken out there on a field trip. Of course, I didn't appreciate it like I should have. So it was nice to see this. Very cool!
Have always wanted to visit...
Watch out for scorpions and snakes!
If I had land, would love to re-build some of these shelter proto-types...
This old, near-sighted man would be tripping over rocks on paths - every 30 seconds - just in the daytime.
In the 80s, my girlfriend and roommate lived in a wonderful four-plex brick building in OKC. Designed in the 60s by a FLW former student. Wonderful except when there plumbing issues on their lower level unit and beautiful brick floors had to be torn up! Brick everywhere with beautiful blond wood.
That suspended tent doubles as a solar oven during the day.
Thank you. I thoroughly enjoyed that.
This video proves to me that there are crazy architects just like how there are crazy artists.
Historic Place. Great tour of the student builds !
I like the way you described that issue,Stephanie,you are charming,thank you
Mind.Blown......that must be an amazing program
This is the the essence of the why of good architecture. Build only the shelter you need and keep the aesthetics. Sight lines, one with the environment, having the structure feel like it belongs there are all great qualities. And this was the laboratory to nurture this kind of thinking. Great story. My cousin attended Taliesin, I think. It was long ago in the 70's. I remember him going out to the desert to go to a type of architecture school. When he came back, he built a passive solar home for my grandparents in Hysperia, CA. It was a very cool house, and I just loved it. I didn't truly appreciate it at the time, it just felt right. Now years later when I have tapped into my own sense of place and being, I appreciate it even more. Love your content. Keep it up. BTW what do you shoot it with and ever consider a monopod or tripod? Just a thought.
I love the Structure at 6:00 because it's really reminds me a lot of the Jacob's House and Falling Water combined. By far two of my favorite FLW homes.
I liked this video. The landscapes, the hanging tent, it would be something different to experience. The desert landscape was just gorgeous.
I've followed architecture for a long time and this video changed my thinking about it, great video, thank you!
Some interesting stuff here. Really wouldn’t fancy being in that suspended tent with all those metal wires in a thunderstorm lol.
These are student projects, when you go into a Frank Lloyd Wright structure you get it. Starting out in architecture, I'd love to have been able to work things out in this environment. I traveled to the desert just to see this project.
Are they not allowed to oil or wax that canvas? Seems like a fairly simple way to make it waterproof without deterioration of the material.
+Stephanie Hosking yes, we oiled it sometimes, but it really doesn't rain that much in Arizona so it's not much of a problem.
Its a good thing that school is out during the monsoon storms of the summer. You might be surprised at how much water pours out of the sky during the monsoon season in southern Arizona !.
No, not surprised. I have been living in Arizona for 20 years.
Stephanie, that would destroy the flavor.
@@1995Jochen are you an architect?
I feel like they could've at least tried a more water resistant tarp
Jochen Walther replied to a comment 4 years ago to say they oiled it sometimes but it doesn't rain enough for it to be much of a problem.
Love this one. Thank you KD.
Living in a Frank Lloyd Wright home as I do you have to understand his thinking he was a genius so much thought went into the home the students are getting the feeling that living in a unspoiled nature
You are probably a rich person?
Wow. Published on October 27th - One day ago and already almost 14k views. I live in Chandler (a little south of Scottsdale) and just said to myself two days ago that I HAVE to make it out there. It's a crime that I haven't been there yet. 'Really enjoyed the video. 'Very interesting to see how people might live under these circumstances. 'Enjoyed the little tidbits of history.
Is this just a masters program?
I'm an undergrad architecture student at the moment. This is something I'd love.
I really like the philosophy of building to compliment nature.
I am a glazier. Hows school goin?
Just go camping my man
Used to ride my bike as a teenager 15 miles to Taliesin to hang out there. great memories.
LOVE it! We showcase one of these in my upcoming book "Micro Shelters"
What an interesting video, articulately narrarated. Gracias!
Beautiful way to live. Exactly the way I'd want to at least. I don't want to live in an apartment or house. I want to live in nature.
Read voraciously all I could about FLY and the great video documentaries. My connection is where he started with the Prairie Style and visiting his home in Oak Park in my early 20's. The combination of our life experiences make us who we are. The being part of the earth philosophy appears to be an evolution re: not harming the desert. To me, although the buildings make every effort to be part of the land they do stand in contrast. Intellect, problem solving, and thought integrating who I am with the planet I live on. Thanks for this video which I found accidentally. LOL!
i miss AZ.
the smell of the desert when it rains, the sound of the rocks under my feet........ i do really miss AZ.
the only thing i dont miss is the 120 degree summers !!!
Wonderful, the openness let’s you take a big breath,
Breathe in the sky, it feels endless. Ahaaa
Serenity
I Love Frank Lloyd Wright. but i'm curious. was the Bauhaus influenced by the work of FLW? it's like they are connected with their architectural and interior design and they gave birth to the mid century modern look. I love it!!!!!!
We know we are trapped by walls, same as any living creature. But the world isnt as nice as it is in our daydreams so blending security, safety and freedom is why I ever studied design. I may never find the answer.
How do you get into this program, I have been with doing building for people, I am also a certified jig building for BOEING , I was not able to work for them, because of insurance.I am quite a bit older now & still dreams of building , thank you .The person that started Frank Lloyd Taliesin architecture has been my favorite . THANK YOU AGAIN .
great video very neat to see...................you should go back when the students are there and see how they live in the shelter and get there perspective on the dorms
I love the Miner’s shelter at 12:19
Loved that you talked about broad acre people don't even know he designed a whole city an the little farmhouse designs in the moma
Great video! But why would you not show us Taliesin?!
Your voice it's great. Perfect for
Journalism.
Ok one question keeps coming back to me as I watch this, if students are to draw from the surrounding natural landscape shouldn't also their building materials come from the surroundings?
Using the natural stone (and possibly laying them using a slip form) would've been a bonus?
The stones and plants growing on them are part of delicate ecosystem. She said the ground cover take years to grow back when disturbed, so I’m thinking how can they use local materials too without destroying the environment.
@@leonpse 😕Unsure.
It's a school of architecture not a wilderness survival school
Seeing places like this are fascinating to visit. I grew up in Wisconsin where there are a few locations like the school in West Allis. House On The Rock is a sight to see built by Alex Jordan Jr. Both are great Architects!
2:45 In a heartbeat an engineer could have told the architect students that the 'residual heat' held in the approx 200mm concrete was not going to last very long. This too should be something to learn surely?
+Garreth Tinsley It is a bit of a problem nowadays that architecture seems to be disconnected from engineering. No one really understands why this is happening, but it does. Architectural education is tremendously outdated and separated from engineering into some art form with sky hooks and that sort of things.
stG1992 two of my pet personal gripes is getting the Architect to give us a nice VERTICAL riser for gas pipes and other services (predominantly gas due to IGEM gas regs in the uk) and getting enough space to for in the mechanical plant. It's always a battle.
It's same concept as a rocket mass heater. It has already been done and it works if done correctly.
It was more of an experiment and also a living experience
They don't need an engineer to know that. Just a little common sense and the ability to reason.
WOW! great idea wish my school put a little thought into stuff like this ,we dont even have dorms ,but we have alot of homeless students.
7AbuAMIR - where do they sleep? In a van?
i would love that! its like building forts but with more dexterity and better materials.
Fantastic. Superb. Wonderful.
This is so amazing! This is my dream school!
The Master is dead :(
But the school carries on yet still. They have two locations and these projects still go on. Tuition is somewhere just over $5,000 for the Masters experience. I wish I'd found this 15 years ago....
@@Keys879 I read today, the school was sold and moved, its now just property, could not sustain the school on last semester all the students were CHINESE. I am very upset, Talisien its an American Institution to not preserve it its a sin.
@@anyhowe2702 That would be terrible. I kinda wanted to go!
I am so glad other people have the same opinion unpractical must be designed by an architect! !
Martin Engelbrecht ah, but the first rule of design is form fits function/purpose. The purpose was to live minimalistic for a while.
Another Non-Indian Indian expert. Having grown up there as a child, I think you are missing the whole point. More people should be forced to become one with nature as these shelters allow. You take these students from the big city and show them what it is like to get back to their ancestral roots; to understand nature and natural forces and energy flow. Then, you are ready for the drafting room. These comments about killer bees, snakes, scorpions are ridiculous. As a 5-year-old I learned how to deal with these entities, as well as the elements. So what if my tent leaked, it was not the end of the world. In 10 years I never had problems with critters. I would take the appropriate precautions which were taught to everyone. You all would be most fortunate to have an education like the one provided here. You would definitely have a different view of life, art and architecture.
Just like you said you grew up with the possible dangerous and was taught how to deal with them. Would you advise students to sleep outthere in the open if they were not?
Marc Welt...I see nothing wrong with the 'become one with nature" theory & I too would enjoy that, but once again...the poison snakes & spiders that could easily approach & strike with very little warning (if any warning) does not make sense of this open air concept up me. What is your thoughts on that?
Marc Welt Amen. Couldn't agree more.
White man build big fire stand way back.
When I lived in AZ I had a beautiful apartment. I slept on the balcony for like 3 months straight. Didn’t even use the apartment
Love the plant community there
Wright (and his activities) was actually directly responsible for preserving large portions of the Sonora. He and the school fought for protective legislation. It's pure joy visiting those areas.
The best two shelters you show, one with a blue area, and the other is shown before that! I can see them but at a distance! You kept walking ahead instead of deturing to show them close up and inside! Please show them all!
I enjoyed my visit to Taliesin West !! I have been to Scotttsdale 12 or so times..
Very neat. I was going to apply for Taliesin. however i decided to attend another school.
The shelters are cool. I was wondering how they paid for them. Thanks for making this video.
Visit us any time.
Jochen Walther Your school seems wonderful! I've been a fan of Wright's work since undergraduate school (rented a room in a prairie-style residence down the street from the Unity Temple in Oak Park, Illinois). Words can't express how excited and inspired I was to see these student shelters at Taliesin.
Heather Gurke I am glad to hear that you had a wonderful time. If you are interested to follow the school or the Alumni, we have a Facebook page you can follow. facebook.com/pages/Taliesin-Fellows/160019654037967
sirlucww...paid for what? I didn't see much there that costs. Well kiss the poison snakes & spiders good night for me & I'll skip the lesson!!
The suspended tent designer's girlfriend was all, "You better get me up off the desert floor!" and it was so. Later she was all, "You better not design hosepitals in autocad for $29,000 a year!" And he was all, "Okay I'll design modern custom homes for $1,700 a year until I get a foothold, bitch." And she was all, "Build me my dream home right now!" And he designed a tent that was suspended over a cliff. One that wasn't over-engineered like the one shown here.
@Barb Mulvaney take your meds barb.
LMAO So when are you two getting married and gonna give us some more critters? J/K
Ok I gotta get off at the hanging bed... that is an enormous amount of steel and effort for minimal effect. Pretty much sums up all the pitfalls of such hubris...
Shelter tours are resuming for the winter season on November 1st, 2014 and occur every Saturday until May. The tours are led by students who actually live in these shelters and have personal accounts of their time spent in them.
These structures are stunning but I would definitely be like that student who stayed in their car for days. I hate being spooked and the desert is full of creatures!
It is in the venom belt and it is only sensible to be careful. However, there is no night sky like a desert night sky! If you have never been out in the desert at night, you have never seen but a fraction of the stars in they sky. Javelinas? Pronghorns? Packs of singing coyotes! Mountain Lions! Jaguars! It's not all about fear, but also wonder & beauty!
i would carry a suitcase full of mothballs, which i understand repels critters like snakes
I slept outside in Utah and a mouse started licking my nose.
I was raped by a mountain lion in the desert, I hate sand.
Thank you
During the era of Wright, Taliesin Fellowship students learned their trade supervising the construction of the actual buildings Wright had designed for his clients. Students Edgar Tafel and Bob Mosher for example helped build Fallingwater for the Kaufmans. Unfortunately following Wright's death in 1959, his Taliesin Fellowship essentially ceased to design and supervise the construction of buildings. It stopped thinking big as it had under Wright's leadership, as a force and vision determined to evangelize the whole world, instead thinking on the minuscule almost insignificant scale seen in this video.
in Wisconsin, some call his place Talespin.
So cool, is this a place that is like open to the public...? I would love to check out all those and also pick one to spend the night...?
How do the structures perform in the summer? I’m guessing not very well . I would like to see a year round organic structure.