Frank Lloyd Wright founded this desert home and studio in 1937 in the foothills of the McDowell Mountains near Scottsdale, Arizona. It was his winter home and workplace until his death in 1959, named after his Taliesin studio in Wisconsin.
Wright's apprentices built the first structures themselves between 1938 and 1941, camping on the site as they worked. Their walls are "desert masonry": local rocks set in concrete, which gives the buildings the colors of the surrounding land. Wood-and-canvas roofs originally let soft light into the drafting room. The buildings follow a 45-degree grid, linked by courtyards and walkways, and triangles, hexagons and natural motifs appear throughout.
Today Taliesin West is the headquarters of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, which offers tours. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage listing for Wright's 20th-century architecture.
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