The School of Architecture, Founded by Frank Lloyd Wright as the Taliesin Fellowship in 1932 is a graduate program in architecture that teaches and practices his studies and applications of: learning by doing, new ways of looking, an ability to honor and build with the landscape, and experimentation. The School recognizes that we live in a world to which architecture must minimize the expenditure of impact on availability of natural resources.

The School promotes learning how to serve our diverse communities by making our environment more sustainable, open to all, and beautiful. Innovation in architecture is explored through experimentation of materials and processes related to a project; and through the lens of the social and cultural context of that project. The rigorous programs center around architectural work, with specific focus on projects that are socially responsible, environmentally sustainable, and culturally relevant. 

Our curriculum honors diversity in all its aspects. We respect the many sources for design and work to provide a context in which communities can make room for all their members, as well as for each other. Within an accredited Master of Architecture degree framework, and with the design studio as the core of the curriculum, the School relies on the following:

·        We learn from the legacy of Taliesin and Taliesin West as instructive environments for the experience and learning of architecture, including active exploration of the implications and uses of Frank Lloyd Wright’s body of work and thought on our campuses at Arcosanti and Cosanti.

·        Our students inhabit, design, and construct shelters; we also undertake community design/build projects, both on and off campus, collectively designed by students, faculty, and staff. We learn by doing.

·        We make art, photography, music, and performance an integral part of the classroom and community experience, both in our work and by bringing in artists from diverse contexts.

·        We study ways in which architecture can minimize its impact on the availability of natural resources. We believe that architecture should evidence itself through structures that throughout their life cycle minimize the expenditure of an impact on natural resources.

·        We draw on architectural precedents, case studies, and historical examples from cultures around the world.

·        Students participate in both internships and in external collaborations with other schools and institutions.

·        We provide a curriculum and environment that provides students with both ideas and tools so that they can become human beings of integrity and vision.