Issue Jan 17th 2024  January 17th 2024

7 Gorgeous Homes Built Into The Desert

Dry land has long carried a certain reputation—pounding sun, harsh temperature, maybe even inhospitable terrains—which is perhaps what makes homes built into the desert so fascinating. “The desert, with its rim of arid mountains spotted like the leopard’s skin or tattooed with amazing patterns of creation, is a grand garden,” Frank Lloyd Wright once said about the unique beauty of the topography, which has captured the attention of architects for centuries.

Though desert architecture has been around for as long as humans have been building shelters, more modern iterations can offer extremely valuable lessons on sustainability and vernacular design. When done well, homes in the desert tame the wild of arid conditions without overpowering the beauty of them. Architectural Digest surveys seven incredible homes built into the desert that show the beauty of building in barren land.

Though Taliesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright’s winter home and studio, may be his most famous desert design, the Norman Lykes House is just as worthy of recognition. Located in Phoenix and built into the side of a desert mountain, the sinuous residence represents Wright’s interest in circular geometry, with the floor plan designed as a collection of concentric circles. The American architect sketched the home just before he passed away in 1959, and his apprentice John Rattenbury saw the project to completion.

Click for more details: architecturaldigest.in  

Schindler's Druckman Residence Just Listed in L.A. for $2.4M

Architect and one-time Frank Lloyd Wright associate R.M. Schindler never played by any rules but his own. Each of his houses bear the mark of an independent intelligence seeking new boundaries in architecture, seizing every opportunity to provide a liberating experience in space through complex geometries. Located in Hollywood Hills' Outpost Estates in Los Angeles, California, the 1941 Druckman Residence radiates pure Schindler. In original condition with minor alterations, it exemplifies his supple mastery with a hillside site. Light plays through different openings, each view of sky and nature carefully framed. Three-dimensional sculpture is transformed into functional built-in cabinetry and bookcases that appear exactly where needed, as though anticipating one's path. Every detail is considered, beginning with the rhythm of the joints on the pathway that run up the adjacent garage wall. The secluded walkway leads to what appears to be a one-story house, set back from the street in a thicket of greenery. The entry opens to a landing with a choice: go up, where the warmth of the living space, kitchen, bedroom and study, awaits upstairs, a peek of the exposed roof framing and light spilling over a cabinet above, or down, to other bedrooms and storage below. A polished wood floor and wall planes of old-growth rotary-cut plywood, refurbished to a rich brown, are a striking contrast to white walls, rafters, and beams. In the living area, a group of large windows below a wide clerestory opens to views, fresh air, and the greenery below. Defining a key datum line, a strong tie beam contains a uplight that defines the asymmetric triangle of the roof, one of the many original hidden lights serving way finding and defining space. A recessed trapezoidal clerestory offers yet another source of sunlight. The stucco cladding of the fireplace (that doubles as an outdoor fireplace with a generous terrace) has been only slightly altered, stopping halfway to meet the smooth red brick of the fireplace and hearth. The later kitchen's details and woodwork were based on Schindler's and opens to the original built-in table and bench seating; remarkably, the bathrooms throughout are intact. Beyond the kitchen, a balcony railing is framed with wood. The bedrooms on the lower floor feature large windows and more built-in cabinetry and bookcases, with additional storage and a laundry room cut into the hill. At the bottom of the site lies probably one of Modernism's most beautiful pools, a secret oval emerald gem (family lore attributes it to Richard Neutra) set amidst the trees.

Click for more details: dppre.com  

Historic Park Inn Hotel Hosts Art Display

The Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Historic Park Inn Hotel in Mason City, Iowa will hold a display of “Art in a Wright Space” in its skylight room.

From now until mid-May, according to a press release, wood crafter Joseph Nelson will display his unique triptych of “sculptural chairs” hand-built of native Midwestern woods of walnut, cherry, hickory and maple. His work assimilates art, craft, and the spirit of Frank Lloyd Wright, whose designs were abstractions of nature expressed in geometric forms.

Wood-crafting artist Joseph Nelson stands alongside his handmade Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired chairs, which are now on display at the Historic Park Inn Hotel in Mason City. Contributed

Nelson’s chairs are likewise comprised of geometric shapes with trapezoidal planes that extend vertically and horizontally from a plumb spine that answers to the pinnacle of Wright’s mile-high sky-scraper.

The public is invited to see the exhibit. The Historic Park Inn Hotel is located at 15 W. State St. in downtown Mason City. Nelson is a native of Ames. He works and resides in Waukesha, Wisconsin, with his wife, Jennifer, and their son, Isaac.

Click for more details: wrightonthepark.org  

Frank Lloyd Wright Homes Open For Tours

Visiting one of the many Frank Lloyd Wright homes open for tours is perhaps the greatest way to experience the architect’s genius. Though many of his public buildings, such as the Guggenheim or the Marin County Civic Center are exemplary, it’s his private residences that demonstrate Wright’s guiding passions, philosophies, and beliefs. Ultimately, he maintained that good design enriched people’s lives, and perhaps nowhere was that more important than the places we rest our heads at night. So the architect crafted homes that prompted life in harmony with nature and advocated for affordable, beautiful residences for all. To this day, many of his homes remain in the hands of private owners and continue to inspire their stewards to slow down, appreciate the world around them, and bask in the small moments.

While having the opportunity to live in a Frank Lloyd Wright house is the exception among modernist architecture lovers and not the rule, there are a number of homes by the mastermind that the public can actually visit—some of the sites even offer overnight stays. Architectural Digest visits 30 Frank Lloyd Wright homes open for tours, from his early Prairie style designs to his Usonian masterpieces and experimental moments in between.

Click for more details: architecturaldigest.com