The Wright Stuff

By Thad Plumley

I’ve always gravitated toward the work of architect Frank Lloyd Wright. When I’m traveling and have a chance to visit a building or home he designed, I always take it.

That’s why I was so excited recently to be strolling the grounds of Taliesin West, his former studio and winter home in Scottsdale, Arizona. Gazing in and around one of his masterpieces was a bucket list afternoon for me. I truly felt a million miles from my home and job.

Then the speaker of the audio tour I downloaded began talking about the water well Wright commissioned for the property. Man, I thought, you’re never really but a few degrees from your day-to-day!

I found out Wright bought the 320-acre property incredibly cheap because it was not believed to have a water source on it and people were telling him his purchase was a “waste of time.” Wright, though, was convinced there was indeed groundwater beneath his feet and hired a water well contractor in 1938.

Wright felt there was water because when he looked around the land that would become Taliesin West, he
saw it as where an alluvial fan of rock debris pushing off the mountains ends. As such, he felt that is exactly where water would sink into the ground.

So, he instructed the contractor to drill there—and 480 feet later an aquifer was struck. In fact, the well is still serving the property, now a popular tourist attraction for Wright disciples like me.

From the spot in which he was laughed at for wanting to build on rose Taliesin West, a structure that blends beautifully into its desert mountain landscape. It is one of the best examples of Wright’s organic architecture style and designated as a National Historic Landmark and UNESCO World Heritage Site.

It also showcases the power of doing your homework and standing strong when your voice may not be the loudest. Where most people saw desert sand and nothingness, Wright studied the landscape, trusted his knowledge of geology, and saw the ideal location for a winter home and studio for his apprentices.

You’re a groundwater expert. Have you looked around your community and saw opportunities to diversify your business? Do you get the sense that your company could expand into another area or offer another line that could produce a new productive revenue stream?

If so, do your homework. Study. Crunch numbers. Talk to other experts in your professional network. After doing all of that, if you still feel the same way and are still seeing the same amazing opportunity, go for it.

The decision may just be your masterpiece.

Thad Plumley is the editor of WWJ and the director of publications for the National Ground Water Association. He can be reached at tplumley@ngwa.org, or (800) 551-7379, ext. 1594.