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Ocotillo Desert Camp

1929 architectureBuildings and structures in Chandler, ArizonaFrank Lloyd Wright buildings
Ocotillo camp photo no. 1. Courtesy Brian Spencer & the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, Scottsdale, Arizona
Ocotillo camp photo no. 1. Courtesy Brian Spencer & the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, Scottsdale, Arizona

Ocotillo (also known as Ocatillo) was a temporary camp in Ahwatukee, Phoenix designed by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright and constructed in late-January/early-February 1929 by his draftsmen. The camp buildings, made out of wood and canvas, were intended by the architect to provide living and working spaces for himself and his draftsmen while they worked on a project (San Marcos In The Desert) for promoter, hotelier and entrepreneur, Dr. Alexander John Chandler. Chandler allowed Wright to use part of his land on which to construct the camp. Wright and the draftsmen stayed at the camp until late spring, and returned to Wright's home, Taliesin, on May 31. Wright, presuming work would continue into the next year, intended to return to the camp. However, a fire in the camp that summer (followed by the stock market crash in October) prevented the cabins ever being used again. The site has not held buildings since the summer of 1929. The camp was first acknowledged as a precursor to Wright's Taliesin West by architectural historian Henry-Russell Hitchcock in his book, In the Nature of Materials, 1887–1941: The Buildings of Frank Lloyd Wright, Duell, Sloan and Pearce, New York 1942. (97)

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Ocotillo Desert Camp (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Ocotillo Desert Camp
South 31st Street, Phoenix

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Latitude Longitude
N 33.2999 ° E -112.017 °
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South 31st Street 16056
85048 Phoenix
Arizona, United States
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Ocotillo camp photo no. 1. Courtesy Brian Spencer & the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, Scottsdale, Arizona
Ocotillo camp photo no. 1. Courtesy Brian Spencer & the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, Scottsdale, Arizona
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House of the Future (Phoenix)
House of the Future (Phoenix)

The House of the Future also known as the Ahwatukee House of the Future is an example of a home of the future located in Ahwatukee, an urban village in Phoenix, Arizona. The idea was originated by Randall Presley, the developer of Ahwatukee to promote his then-new development and bring more residences to the then-less populated Ahwatukee neighborhood. The House was designed by Charles R. Schiffner Taliesin Associated Architects of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation in Scottsdale, who got inspiration from his drawings of one of his box projects originally intended for Mr. and Mrs. Wright. It was opened for tours in 1980; tours cost $3. Between 1980 and 1984 the House attracted approximately 250,000 people, who were also given tours of various model homes in the development. After four years the House was sold, and is now in private ownership, having changed hands several times.The House was "the first microprocessor controlled house". Designed in coordination with Motorola it had multiple Motorola MC6800 microprocessors that "opened and closed windows, adjusted blinds, and stored tax records, shopping lists, and video games." The system consisted of ten microprocessors, and cost $30,000 in 1980 dollars.The three-bedroom house had an unconventional design. "Most of it is below ground. It includes a two-storey 'atrium', or sky-lobby, from which all the rooms lead off. This contains plants and provides a central conversation area." "Dozens of companies helped build the property at an estimated cost of more than $2 million, a portion of it in donated materials."When it opened the house became a media sensation. “It was covered in periodicals, the media of the time, in 33 different countries. It became a world-famous house, in essence.”