In just a couple of months, hundreds of CCIMs will descend on Phoenix to meet at the Arizona Biltmore, one of Phoenix's Points of Pride and an amazing architectural masterpiece.
The Biltmore, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, opened in 1929 during less than auspicious times. The country was on the cusp of the Great Depression, and political leaders wrestled with the best way to manage our way out of an economic downturn. During this time, a small group of architects were beginning to break the mold on conventional design.
Wright was a transformative architect who shunned neoclassical design. In a world where Frank Gehry buildings are highly sought after, it has become commonplace to see unconventional designs. When the Biltmore was built, neoclassical designs ruled the day after being rediscovered at the White City world's fair in Chicago in 1893. Architects raced each other to design new buildings with Greek columns and Roman arches.
Wright pushed his profession to incorporate nature into design because he felt nature was the key to the future of design. He believed that incorporating natural light, and the shapes and textures of nature into building would provide durable, attractive structures for working or living.
Hopefully you are reading this with enough advance notice to plan extra time to visit more of Wright's architectural wonders that are only a short drive away from the Biltmore:
Grady Gammage Auditorium
Located in Tempe on Arizona State University's campus and close to the Phoenix International Airport, the Grady Gammage Auditorium is an amazing performance arts venue designed by Wright. Its roundness resembles the Guggenheim museum in New York City, another one of Wright's buildings. The Gammage is supported by fifty columns and flying buttresses that provide a clear-span auditorium. Wright designed over 1,000 projects in his lifetime, and the Gammage was one of his last.
Taliesin West
If you want to learn more about Wright, Taliesin West, his winter retreat, is an easy drive from the hotel. Wright and his students stayed at Taliesin West while they worked on other design projects in the Southwest. Typical of his design, Taliesin West—the counterpoint for Taliesin East, his Wisconsin summer home—has low horizontal lines, local stone finishes, concrete, and splashes of his signature Cherokee-red paint. The camps became famous not just as a place to stay but also as place to learn, commune, and share.
Of interest to fellow Albuquerquean's is the fact that the hotel's grand ballroom was designed by the well-known architectural firm Flatow, Moore & Bryan architects.
Even if you don't have the time to take a tour of the area's architectural gems, at least share a toast with a good friend in honor of the Biltmore's 82nd anniversary and contemplate the impact of good design on our day-to-day life.
Finally, if you are feeling past your prime, keep in mind that half of Wright's designs came after he turned 60. So come to Phoenix to emerge from the ashes of the last couple of down years and be reborn at CCIM Live!
No comments:
Post a Comment