In recent weeks the leaders of the School of architecture at Taliesin have begun to make plans for moving the school to Cosanti, some eight miles to the west of the school's current site. 

Last week, Archinect spoke with Dan Schweiker, Chair of Governing Board for Taliesin, Chris Lasch, Interim President of Taliesin and former Dean of the school, and Patrick McWhortor, President and CEO of Cosanti, to learn more about the planned transition.

Describing the process at hand, Schweiker explains that the school had moved on after unsuccessfully negotiating with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation for approval to continue using the Taliesin West facilities moving forward. In January of this year, the school and foundation announced that the school would shut down at the end of the school year, a decision that was reversed by the school’s Board of Directors following immense outcry and new financial support that materialized after the initial announcement. And although the school worked to find a way forward at Taliesin, “it became apparent nothing would happen,” Schweiker explains, adding, “mediation was unsuccessful and the school realized we needed a new home by July 31st. In looking around Arizona for a suitable site, Cosanti and Arcosanti, came up. Paolo Soleri was an apprentice to Frank Lloyd Wright in the 1940s, and there was so much synergy and history between the two organizations that it seemed like a good idea to explore.”

And so the leadership teams of the school and Cosanti got together and took a tour of the Cosanti site “while observing social distancing, of course,” Schweiker explains, adding, ”from the school’s perspective, it looked like a great idea to pursue.”

Lasch explains, “When it became clear that we weren't going to be able to stay at Taliesin West, it was welcome news that there was a possibility of moving to Cosanti. The two sites share an intertwined history, and Cosanti comes with a lot of the attitude and ethos about architecture and about learning and practicing architecture that in fact traveled from Taliesin West to Cosanti.” 

Lasch continues, “The idea of architects and students learning architecture and building their own environments in harmony with nature in a hands-on, experimental way is an ethos that Taliesin was founded on, and that we’re trying to carry on through this transition. The spirit has been carried over at Cosanti, and the possibility of working in these environments—and in the same way as a collective, hands-on exercise in experimentation—made it a really good fit and made our students excited through all the turmoil.”

McWhortor, for his part, took the helm of Cosanti a few years ago and had been exploring ways to “really lift up and amplify the educational mission of organization” when the School of Architecture at Taliesin came his way. McWhortor explains that the new partnership between Cosanti and the school fit into the institutional goals of both groups. He adds, “One thing I've been talking about is how to amplify the educational mission of Cosanti. This fit very nicely with the direction we’re moving in, our longstanding organizations working together.” McWhortor explains that although many who know the Cosanti site have an awareness of its iconic structures, the site of the settlement itself includes more than two acres of unbuilt area where the student-led design and construction projects that currently take place surrounding the Taliesin West could also exist.

Now that a plan is beginning to coalesce, the School of Architecture at Taliesin is moving forward with completing the necessary procedural requirements specific to moving the school to Cosanti, as outlined by the School's accreditors. Lasch describes the process as one of “dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s,” explaining that he anticipates that the process will go smoothly. The school is still technically “all-remote” due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but is in the process of moving in and hopes to be “fully operational in the near future.” 

The school also plans a name change in coming months, as it will no longer be allowed, legally-speaking, to use the Taliesin name or to reference Frank Lloyd Wright in its nomenclature. It will, however, be allowed to make “historically accurate” claims regarding the pedigree of the school, which was founded by Wright in 1932. Lasch explains: “Its pretty idiosyncratic. ‘Organic’ is up for grabs, but ‘Usonian,’ ‘Wright,’ and ‘Taliesin,’ are trademarked in one way or another.” Remarking on the tricky job of re-naming the school without referencing either its founder or the place where it is located, Lasch adds that “It's a really interesting way to rethink the reexamine the legacy and how these words have meaning and how these words have changed over time. And whether they still mean what they did and whether they have relevance now as we’re pivoting toward a new chapter for the school.”

Another issue includes how the school will approach its annual cross-country migrations, a journey that takes students back and forth between the Arizona and Wisconsin Taliesin sites and dates back to the days when the school functioned as an working architectural office led by Wright himself. Following the discord with the Wright Foundation, the school has also lost access to the Wisconsin facilities, though it maintains a cadre of support staff there. It is possible that the school leaders will find new facilities to use in Wisconsin in order to maintain this critical aspect of the school’s curriculum and culture. Lasch explains that the “migratory pattern has been part of the school that has been there since the beginning, taking advantage of the facilities and climates, exposing our students to two different biomes throughout the education; it’s a unique aspect of the school. It's not a week off, it’s a study trip and a chance to visit the architecture and natural and cultural spots between the two.”

McWhortor adds that the facilities at Cosanti will be able to absorb the influx of students, adding that the site has: "always had educational programs” and that residential, classroom, and gathering spaces are available for the school’s use. Noting that the site is listed on the local historic registry and contains a previously constructed dwelling known to be among the oldest structures in the area, McWhortor explains that Cosanti will operate as a kind of living architectural laboratory for the new students while maintaining the historic integrity of the existing structures. “We have some important requirements to preserve the historic integrity while making some enhancements,” he explains.”

Lasch adds that this ethos echoes that of the school itself and its student-built shelter program. The shelters, Lasch explains, are “meant to be living constructed documents, they get lived in and added on to, demolished and repurposed by subsequent generations of students, and so on.” 

“Cosanti is a good fit for us,” Lasch explains finally, “because of this legacy of experimental building and design. It’s really important to us. We are glad we can continue to offer that at a new site in such a sympathetic way.”