Certain structures, one might imagine, are sacrosanct, immune to intervention. Taliesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright’s multi-building, 500-acre winter studio and laboratory built in Scottsdale, Arizona in 1937 and named a UNESCO World Heritage site and National Historic landmark, would qualify. Yet over the years, the project, serving as headquarters for the eponymous foundation, has seen seasonal maintenance and upgrades addressing infrastructure and ADA compliancy.

In 1998, acrylic roof panels replaced original canvas counterparts that had created tent-like pavilions for the “desert camp,” as Wright called TW. Now, plans are underway to return to fabric to be more in sync to be with the architect’s concept; research of materials and framing systems is in the works. The most recent restoration effort, best termed an enhancement, is paradoxically quasi invisible, yet extraordinarily discernible. It’s all about light, specifically installation of Lutron’s patented Ketra lighting system. It’s a move enriching the experience for Taliesin West’s estimated 100,000 visitors annually.

Behind-The-Scenes Of Lutron’s Taliesin West Lighting Refresh

“Frank Lloyd Wright was all about testing boundaries and using new technologies,” Fred Prozzillo, the Nord McClintock Family VP of Preservation and Collections at the Foundation, introduces us to the endeavor. This was a case of not knowing what was wanted—or indeed needed–until Lutron’s presentation pitch. “Our proposal to the preservation team highlighted a seamless solution,” Kathryn Bertmaring, residential sales manager, Rocky Mountains, notes the catalyst. At which point the proverbial light bulb went off. Literally and figuratively. Dated, energy-hungry incandescents along with LED’s were due for replacement with a modern wireless solution operated by a single platform.

Backdropped by the McDowell Mountains, Taliesin West has a reflecting pool on site.

Not only could the solution, with its vast rainbow of 16.7 million color options, duplicate FLW’s envisioned “lantern of light” describing the warm glow of Taliesin’s desert surroundings but it could alter the buildings’ environments emulating natural lighting as it cycled through the course of a day and evening. As such the native rocks, stone, and sand of Taliesin’s structural components, take on whole different looks and emphasis tied to diurnal rhythms.  “Everything just fit,” Prozzillo continues.

Constraints, however, were numerous. Obviously off base was any kind of damage or alterations to existing buildings and infrastructure wiring, problematic since structural walls are 18 inches to 2-feet thick and lack conduits for wire passage. Further, Wright’s hand-made decorative fixtures, still intact, are so delicate that even replacing lamps is precarious.

Yet the Lutron team and its partners prevailed, tucking such products as slender Lightbar Slim fixtures and Lumaris tape into architectural elements so they are all but hidden. In the architect’s personal living room, aka the Garden Room, A20 and S30 lamps now illuminate those glass fixtures, imparting midday, evening, and nighttime glows attuned to the passage of time. A wireless, battery-powered shading system, also part of the Lutron portfolio, is newly installed in the site’s conference room again offering a host of options to its users All told, Bertmaring summarizes, “the approach successfully merges modern technology with historical authenticity.” Just as Wright himself would have done.

From Day To Night, Taliesin West Is Aglow

Exteriors, lit by Ketra’s S30 and A20 lamps along with Lightbar Slim, changes in color and intensity to mirror natural lighting through the course of a day.

Wright’s personal living room, dubbed the Garden Room, was restored to its 1950’s historical design in 2021. Ketra’s Lightbar Slim and A20 lamps alter perception of textures and red, blue, and gold tones through the course of a day.

Hand-made glass fixtures are now illuminated by Ketra lamps.

Wire-free Palladiom shades, part of Lutron’s portfolio, are another component of the lighting solution.

Thick walls and delicate hand-made fixtures, challenges for a new system, are now lit with Ketra A20 lamps.

Wireless remotes throughout the conference room enable visitors to adjust lighting cued to conversation or work needs.

In the drafting studio, Lumaris tape lighting, tucked into the based of ceiling beams, adjusts to match daylight through the course of the day as well as allows the space to be used throughout the night.