"Taliesin West"

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses Frank Lloyd Wright's home and studio, entitled "Taliesin West," as seen through the eyes and artistic principles of the Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio. The paper describes the building and then discusses how Wright's use of asymmetry and rough-hewn materials would not appeal to Palladio's architectural principles.

From the Paper:

"It might be objected that Palladio was not entirely anti-natural in his material and design and thus may have objected less strenuously to Wright's work than might be alleged. It is true gardens were important to Palladio's works, and the outdoors and the space of the composition are integrated into many of Palladio's designs. However, in balancing the relationship between the exterior and the interior, proportionality was always key, as was to make the Roman designs seem spacious and airy. His most famous work, the Palazzo Godi at Lonedo (1540) above all makes use of a balanced composition of mass, is dignified in detail, and uses the light and the space in a way that draws attention to the architect's fundamental design, not causes the gazer to look differently at the natural world. To gaze upon Wright's "Taliesin West" changes not simply one's view of what architecture should accomplish--one never looks at nature the same way again, either. One sees human dwellings at one with nature, rather than resisting its effects, as was common in classical and Renaissance works of architecture."

Sample of Sources Used:

• "Andrea Palladio." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Volume XI. Robert Appleton Company, 1911.
• Alofsin Anthony. Index to Taliesin Correspondence. Garland Publishing, 1988.
• "Functionalistic Architecture." Critique of MOMA show. The Capital Times. 17 Feb 1932. Reprinted on the web 31 Mar 20006 <http://www.pbs.org/flw/buildings/index.html<
• "Parallel Movements: Wright at the Time." Frank Lloyd Wright: Life and Works. Ken Burns' Official Documentary Website. PBS. 31 Mar 2006. http://www.pbs.org/flw/buildings/index.html
• "Taliesin: 1911." Frank Lloyd Wright: Life and Works. Ken Burns' Official Documentary Website. PBS.com. 31 Mar 2006. http://www.pbs.org/flw/buildings/index.html

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