Biltmore Glamour

Next we take a driverless Waymo taxi (see sidebar) to the Arizona Biltmore hotel. Heavily influenced by Wright’s organic architecture and designed by his student Albert Chase McArthur, the so-called Jewel of the Desert soon became a retreat for Hollywood’s elite after opening in 1929.

We marvel at the radiant ceiling of the aptly named “Gold Room” event space, which in-house tour guide Ashley Johnson says is the world’s second-largest gold-leaf ceiling, behind only the Taj Mahal. Soon after, we reach a Prohibition-era “Mystery Room” through a backroom corridor. 

“During Prohibition, a spotlight operator on the roof would shine light into the skylight to warn of approaching police,” Johnson explains while demonstrating how a sliding bookcase hid the bar. The room’s fireplace, meanwhile, provides a towering example of the 250,000-plus handmade concrete blocks, featuring 24 geometric patterns that adorn and support the 705-room Biltmore.

Masterful Mi-Mo

Checking into the Hotel Valley Ho the next day is like stepping into the golden age of mid-century modern (mi-mo) design. Originally opened in 1956 with 99 rooms, this ultra-stylish retreat was meticulously restored to its former glory in 2004, when it also underwent an expansion that added five storeys and more than doubling occupancy.

Designed by Edward Varney, who studied under Wright, the hotel provides a prime example of organic architecture’s mi-mo connections. Varney’s use of masonry, cast and poured concrete, natural stone, and expanses of glass connect the building to its desert surroundings. Unlike Taliesin West and the Biltmore, however, the Valley Ho eschews Wright’s trademark technique of compression and release—where a smaller room, foyer or passageway leads to a much larger one—in favour of airy spaces filled with natural light.

Ace Bailey, our guide from Ultimate Art & Cultural Tours, shares anecdotes about the hotel’s glamorous past, including its role as a hideaway for Hollywood A-listers depicted in photos lining a hallway. “The paparazzi didn’t follow celebrities here in the ’50s,” Bailey says. “It was just too inconvenient—only two lanes, mostly dirt roads. People would say, ‘Pack a lunch—you’re going to Scottsdale!’”

Our “Art and Architecture” tour proceeds to Cosanti Originals, the former studio and residence of visionary architect and Wright apprentice Paolo Soleri, where we admire handcrafted bronze bells and experimental earth-formed concrete structures.

And that, we decide, is about as organic as architecture gets.