The Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture, as a means of providing its students with hands-on learning experiences, is working with the Garden of the Gods Sculpture Center, a non-profit arts organization in Santa Fe, New Mexico to design a public Sculpture Center on a breathtaking 35-acre property just south of Santa Fe along the scenic Turquoise Trail.

Presentation boards, models and master plans are part of an exhibit the students and faculty produced for the public relations and fund-raising phase of the project. The $11 million project, when complete, will house 6-10 resident artists, staff, studio workshop space, and a public gallery/exhibition space for the artists in residence.

The project applies in-depth research in sustainability to produce a design for the clients that includes passive solar heating, cooling, and ventilation, photo voltaic electricity, local building materials, and indigenous design references. The design intends to celebrate the natural qualities of the site by creating a dialog with the natural landforms and framing distant views. As well, the clients intend to set aside portions of the property as a conservation easement and enhance a natural wetland spring on the property.

The School considers proposals from organizations interested in collaborating on designs related to sustainability, social responsibility, and arts/culture. Other projects we've worked on include the Mississippi project for post-Katrina housing, an Orphanage near Pondicherry, India, and collaborations with the American Institute of Architects' initiatives to envision the future of two Western towns: Lake Havasu City, AZ and Mountain Green, UT.


- Victor Sidy
Dean of Taliesin, Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture