The School of Architecture at Taliesin (SoAT), which maintains campuses in Scottsdale, Arizona and Spring Green Wisconsin, is closing down following an 88-year run as the institution tasked with carrying on the intellectual design legacy of the American architect Frank Lloyd Wright.

What happened?

An announcement from the school states: "The School of Architecture at Taliesin will cease operations after this semester, after a gut-wrenching decision by its Governing Board on Saturday. The School of Architecture at Taliesin was not able to reach an agreement with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation to keep the school open." The school is currently directed by educator and critic Aaron Betsky.

Dan Schweiker, Chairperson of the Board of Governors for the School of Architecture at Taliesin, added, "This is a sad and somber day for our school, our students and staff and the architecture community. We are saddened we could not reach an agreement with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation to continue operating the architecture school. Our innovative school and its mission were integral to Frank Lloyd Wright’s vision for connecting architecture to our natural world. Wright’s legacy was not just building. It was a school to promulgate the lessons for all future generations."

A separate press release from the Frank Lloyd Wright states that "In discussions between the organizations, SoAT Board leaders had communicated unequivocally to the Foundation that the School did not have a sustainable business model that would allow it to maintain its operation as an accredited program. As a result, leaders of the Boards of the two organizations had developed a proposal that would have allowed the school to continue operations on the Foundation’s two campuses—use of which was donated to SoAT by the Foundation since it became an independent organization—through the end of July, 2021. During that transition period, the organizations would have worked collaboratively to develop alternative programs for which accreditation was not needed."

View of Taliesin West. Photo courtesy of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation / Andrew Pielage.

That agreement, however, appears to be off, as SoAT's earlier announcement today projects that the school's education functions will cease as of June 2020. Instead, the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation will seek to "expand its impact on the field of architecture and design by advancing Wright’s legacy through its educational programs, K-12 through adult ongoing education," according to the latest press release.

In the announcement, Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation President and CEO Stuart Graff writes, "The Foundation had reached an agreement with the leaders of the SoAT Board that would have allowed for second- and third-year students to complete their education at Taliesin and Taliesin West, and we are disappointed that it was not approved by the full SoAT Board. We continue to stand ready to assist in making sure that this change occurs in the best interests of the students."

There are currently roughly 30 students enrolled at the school, according to the SoAT. The school, which is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, the National Architectural Accrediting Board, and the Arizona State Board for Private Postsecondary Education, is currently working out an agreement with The Design School at Arizona State University’s Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts so that current students can transfer the credits they have already earned in order to finish their degrees.

Recent history

The school was previously named the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture until 2017 when it adopted its current name as part of a formal separation from the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation that allowed the school to keep its accreditation. When the name change was announced, Dean Betsky stated, "“Adopting this new name, the School of Architecture at Taliesin, helps us to secure our identity as an experimental, forward-looking architecture program that is deeply rooted in the Taliesin Fellowship."

The school was established in 1932 and has graduated over 1,200 students during its 88-year existence. The two sites used by the school were recently included among six other Wright-designed structures in a UNESCO World Heritage listing.

Regarding the closure, Schweiker added, “The closure of the school is very emotional for our students, our faculty and staff and all of us who worked so hard for this one-of-a-kind institution and its important role in Frank Lloyd Wright’s legacy," adding, "We did everything possible to fight for its survival but due to other forces it was not meant to be."