Article: 5 Modern Design Trends that Were Born at T West

[DavidC]

5 Modern Design Trends that Were Born at Taliesin West


David

[Roderick Grant]

The aerial or drone view at the beginning shows how the post FLW additions at the SE end violate the original scheme. They are horrid accretions that should be eliminated.

[SDR]

Who can name this space ? Was Mr Wright involved ? Are there light fixtures buried in the slab ?

[Roderick Grant]

That's the T-West space originally used for showing films, called 'Hogan' on the plan, across from the kitchen entrance. The photographer is standing in front of the entrance facing NE.

[Forest]

The space is called the Kiva in the Taliesin West Preservation Master Plan, and is discussed and illustrated on pages 174 through 179. Yes, those are recessed floor lights, and per the master plan text must have been original. I believe they appear on a plan in the Appendix, page 597, although not in the section on page 572.

[Rood]

Who can name this space ? Was Mr Wright involved ? Are there light fixtures buried in the slab ?

The space is now used for occasional conferences, and exhibitions ... now of early construction photos of Taliesin West, and, often of apprentice work. Mr. Wright designed the room as a theatre ... projection port-holes are visible in the rear wall, near the ceiling. The screen is located to the right of the photographer, above a fireplace.

As with too many of Andrew Pielage's photos ... this image makes the room appear far, far larger than it really is ... which is not much more than a 20 foot square. A new theatre was constructed after WWII, when the number of apprentices doubled and tripled.

And, yes, three of four lights sunken into the floor are plainly visible in the photo.

[Roderick Grant]

The room cannot accommodate many persons without becoming insufferably hot.

While FLW was not necessarily precise in his use of terminology from an historic point of view, I think 'Hogan' might be a bit more appropriate a term for the room than 'Kiva,' which is a Pueblo term for a room used for religious purposes, while Hogan is a more generic Navajo word for a dwelling place. Though to some extent, all of T-West might be considered a Kiva.

[DRN]

I seem to recall reading, perhaps in Besinger's book, that in the days before glass and real enclosure, the vault and the Kiva were used to securely store items left in Arizona when the Fellowship returned to Wisconsin for the summer.

[Paul Ringstrom]

I seem to recall reading, perhaps in Besinger's book, that in the days before glass and real enclosure, the vault and the Kiva were used to securely store items left in Arizona when the Fellowship returned to Wisconsin for the summer.

Dan,
I remember being told that also.