It is a final capstone design-build project undertaken by students during their third year of the Master’s Program at the School. It involves designing, acquiring materials, fundraising, and constructing a small structure. Currently, the school will be constructing the next shelters at Arcosanti and Cosanti in Arizona. The students then live in the shelter during the final months of their studies at the School and prepare a written thesis regarding their project experiences.
The Shelter Project has a long and rich tradition at the School of Architecture and was begun in the 1920’s, when Frank Lloyd Wright created his Apprentice Program to train aspiring young architects through a learn-by-doing curriculum. Apprentices assisted Mr. Wright in creating his iconic buildings, at both campuses and then built their own shelters in the desert washes at Taliesin West and adapted farm buildings into living quarters on the 800 acre Taliesin site.
Hurtado Zimmerman SC has been pleased to provide monetary support and in-kind donations of materials for a number of shelters over the past 15 years. Attorneys and staff from Hurtado Zimmerman SC have also crewed on with students to help with construction buildouts, and Kimberly Hurtado has provided feedback on thesis narratives that document the students’ design and construction processes.
Hurtado Zimmerman is pleased to support the development of the young architects at TSOA and to contribute to the preservation of this important learning opportunity for the students of the school.
