Arguably America's pre-eminent modern architect of the mid-20th century, Frank Lloyd Wright transformed the construction of the home and the commercial building into a simplified work of art. In fact, eight of his buildings were designated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2019. Now, the last home Wright designed before his death on 9 April 1959 is up for sale.
See also: UNESCO Recognises Eight Frank Lloyd Wright Buildings as World Heritage Sites
In early 1959, Wright started working on designs for a home in the round for Norman and Aimee Lykes in Phoenix, Arizona, the same year he finished working on the iconic Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York. He was 91 at the time. During his long career, he had pioneered the Prairie School movement, an architectural style fusing low-slung, straight-edged lines and organic materials with their natural surroundings.
The 3,095-square-foot Circular Sun House is one of 14 that Wright designed in the round with curvilinear walls and glass windows that seem to meld into the surrounding desert. The two-story residence boasts three bedrooms and three bathrooms and comes fully furnished with mid-century modern décor (including Wright-designed furniture) and Philippine mahogany paneling. The property spans over 1.3 acres at the edge of the Phoenix Mountains Preserve with spectacular panoramic views over Palm Canyon.
See also: 6 Giants of Mid-Century Modern Design
"This circular home with rounded windows and walls, custom built in furniture, and a crescent shaped pool is perched on a mountain overlooking Phoenix with a 180-degree view from the living room," said Anne Stupp, a trustee of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. "Spectacular inside and out, yet noticeably calming, its curves follow the mountain backdrop."
Carved into the mountainous topography of central Arizona, the home is engineered to make the most of the spectacular vistas. "Arizona needs its own architecture," Wright once said, citing the geography of "long, low, sweeping lines, [and] uptilting planes."
See also: Ludwig Mies van der Rohe: From Traditionalism to Modernism
Wright died before the house was completed, and his apprentice John Rattenbury took the helm, finishing it in 1967. After the Lykes sold the house, Rattenbury was called upon to renovate the interior in 1994 for the next owner, as approved by the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation.
The home last sold in October 2019 when it was auctioned for $1.67 million. Now it has been relisted for five times that amount: $8.9 million (around £7.4 million). Deanna Peters of HomeSmart has the listing.
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See also: When Art is... Curvy
Frank Lloyd Wright was enchanted by the Sonoran desert of Arizona, near Scottsdale, which was just a dusty cowboy town when he first visited in 1935. He purchased a large swath of land and began building Taliesin West in 1937, which would become his winter home and studio for the rest of his life. The home is now a museum, architecture school and UNESCO World Heritage Site, a testament to Wright's dedication to seamlessly combining nature and architecture.
This stunning home will offer a rare opportunity to live not only in a Frank Lloyd Wright home, but an important one: his final architectural design.
