From Detail to City at Taliesin

In this ever more interconnected world, relationships between small details and complex systems (urban, regional, national, global) may seem apparent. But in this ever more rapidly evolving world, it's not always so easy to step back and absorb connections and implications across scale, and to understand, in particular, how relevant small things can be to large ones, and vice versa. Nor is it so easy to commit to a slow, integrated approach that sits deeply, over long time, with different scales of attention. This course -- a traveling seminar with travel between August 28 and September 15 -- offers students an opportunity to step out of our everyday lives in Chicago and into an entirely different world, the curious rural environment of Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin, in Spring Green, Wisconsin. A design studio rooted in Taliesin's buildings and landscapes, and convened daily in the magical Hillside studio building, the course will begin at the smallest scales of material detail, and gradually build out to the scales of regions, built and natural environments, and beyond, focusing at each step on both imagined visions of what's possible and the realities we confront and dream within. Through a series of design and design/build projects, shared community around cooking communal meals and work on the Taliesin site, readings situating our investigations in a broader context, and a host of guests, we will build on a legacy of integrative learning in a place designed for just that, while also interrogating the place, its history, and the many interesting people who've passed through. (This studio is suitable both for students new to architecture and urban design, and for students with significant experience. The latter will likely take on a mentorship role for the former, as part of the community we develop together at Taliesin and into the fall. Priority will be given to Architectural Studies minors and Art History majors with an architecture focus, whether declared or intended.)