the taliesin legacy

---

"I adhere to Frank Lloyd Wright's principle of organic architecture, which is an architecture that is natural and appropriate to the site, budget and climate," - Taliesin Fellow, John Rattenbury 

Rattenbury was lead architect for two of the most unique subdivisions of homes in Arizona - Mountain View Estates and Mountain View East.  An apprentice of Frank Lloyd Wright, he's dedicated his life to architecture.  He's an accomplished man, but one of his most enduring legacies may be the one he's not often recognized for.

In the 1970's, developer and contractor E. Russell Riggs acquired 40 acres in Paradise Valley near Tatum Boulevard and Mountain View Road.  Riggs was introduced to Taliesin Architects, who he commissioned to design a luxury subdivision there - Mountain View Estates.

A housing development designed by Frank Lloyd Wright Apprentices is going to be special.  "I learned from Frank Lloyd Wright that the design of the home should reflect the place where you build it," Rattenbury says.  "We applied this principle, making sure that each home was appropriate for its site and gave special attention to how the community fit within its context."

Taliesin Architects wasn't only concerned with the design of each individual home, but also the way the homes worked together as a cohesive subdivision.  "We were very concerned with adjacencies so that everything would be compatible," said Arnold Roy, architect and senior fellow at Taliesin West.

Architect  Vernon Swaback, FAIA, of Swaback Partners worked extensively on the designs with Rattenbury during his time at Taliesin Architects.  Back then, Swaback was often found working on what he coined as "lonely works of art."  So when he was able to introduce E. Russell Riggs to the firm, he was delighted.

"What excites me to this day," Vernon recalls, "is that with Riggs we developed two distinct delivery systems for homes.  We could create a truly custom design, or the buyer could select from one of the unique custom designs we developed."  This system made obtaining an architectural home easy.

There were at least five distinct elevations and as many different floor plans.  Both subdivisions paid great attention to avoid duplication of the elevations and each home was assigned a unique color scheme so the homes would look appropriate, yet individual, next to each other.

The move to Scottsdale and McCormick Ranch for Mountain View East brought challenges:  smaller lots and lower prices.  Swaback recalls, "The detailing was still superb but pricey in comparison to average McCormick Ranch houses."  Today, it's just those details that keep the homes desirable.  Mountain View Estates and Mountain View East are two of only a handful of subdivision homes designed by Taliesin Architects.

Certainly those homes reflect Rattenbury and Swaback's passion and commitment to affordable architecture that can be shared and enjoyed by many instead of just a privileged few.  Instead of being singular "lonely works of art" these homes remain a hidden treasure, beloved and enjoyed by many.