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| Ceramic Chinese actors decorate posts. |
The central Arizona
desert is about the last place I expected to see Chinese influences outside of
Chinese restaurants, But that’s just where I found them, at Taliesin West, an
architectural masterpiece designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, the greatest American
architect of the 20th century.
The lines of his
winter home and school of architecture are clean and pure. Wright’s designs are
inspired by nature. Local rocks were turned into walls held together with
concrete. The surfaces are rough and coarse, yet seem elegantly in sync with
the desert surroundings. The Chinese decorative touches blend in perfectly, not
feeling out of place at all.
Scattered throughout
Taliesin West, beginning with the entrance, are 13 Chinese theatre scenes that
sit in the middle of concrete and rock posts. The scenes represent the various
dramas of the Chinese Imperial Theatre.
The scenes are
incomplete; our guide says they were broken when he bought them. Architectural
students pieced them together and glued them into the concrete. The glue they
used, however, didn’t make it through the wet season; pieces fell off and
broke. They were replaced.
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| Dragon head atop roof |
As you tour this
amazing facility, you’ll come across a dragon‘s head sitting atop a slanted
roof. The dragon is a symbol of China.
At another place,
you’ll find the traditional bright red door centered with an ornate gold door
opener. Just to the right of the door is a huge black gong.
Frank Lloyd Wright
bought land n the desert and began building Taliesin West in 1937;
he was still working on it when he died in 1959.
The lines of his
house are sleek – and slanted. Clerestory windows let in light from the desert
sun. The buildings had features that were so architecturally advanced, it would
be decades before they become commonplace. The setting is magnificent, with a
backdrop of mountains behind and desert as far as you can see from the front.
Guided tours of
Taliesin West are given throughout the day. You may wish to reserve a time
before you arrive as tours fill up quickly on some days. Taliesin West is
located north of the intersection of Cactus Road and Frank Lloyd Wright
Boulevard.
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| Taliesin West |
