Architecture Students Builds Rammed-Earth Shelter At Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin Desert Campus

Designers: Conor Denison
Area: 100 ft²
Year: 2018
Photography: Conor Denison
Project Mentors: Quentin Branch, Julie Szekely
Institute: School of Architecture at Taliesin
City: Scottsdale
Country: United States

Architecture student Conor Denison has designed and built a small rammed-earth shelter on the desert campus of Frank Lloyd Wright‘s School of Architecture at Taliesin in Scottsdale, Arizona. Named “Branch,” the structure was Denison’s thesis project, completed during his final year at the school, which was founded by the legendary American architect in 1937 and situated within the Sonoran Desert.

Architecture students builds rammed-earth shelter at frank lloyd wright's taliesin desert campus

Denison’s design was part of the school’s “Shelter Program,” an annual workshop where students are tasked with creating a habitable pavilion for sleeping in the desert. The program, a tradition since the school’s inception, allows students to live in pavilions built by previous students while attending classes at the Taliesin campus, Wright’s former home. Branch sits atop one of the original concrete pads poured by Wright and his apprentices in the foothills of the McDowell Mountains.

The shelter is constructed entirely of rammed earth, a sustainable material made from a mixture of dirt, sand, and gravel, which is compressed to form load-bearing walls. Denison selected this material for its high thermal mass, which absorbs heat during the day and releases it at night, making it ideal for the desert climate.

The shelter’s walls, floors, ceiling, and even built-in benches are all made of rammed earth, emphasizing Denison’s intent to create an ecologically significant design. He explained that the project examines the scope of architecture beyond the human scale, seeking to create something that acknowledges buildings have ecological significance.

Branch features tapered walls, ranging from 12 inches thick at the base to 39 inches thick at the top, which support a rammed-earth roof. This tapering design minimizes the horizontal span of the roof, allowing the heavy earthen structure to be self-supporting.

The 12-foot-high shelter includes square openings of various sizes, allowing airflow and light to enter the otherwise dark space. The structure lacks mechanical, electrical, and plumbing facilities, reinforcing its simplicity and focus on sustainability.

The shelter’s small entrance requires visitors to crouch to enter, with the interior surfaces left rough to maintain an organic aesthetic. Denison completed the 100 ft² shelter with the assistance of mentors Quentin Branch and Julie Szekely, along with classmates, friends, and other collaborators. Over four weeks, they mixed and compacted 45 tons of rammed earth to construct the project.

Denison’s shelter, located on the historic Taliesin West site, continues the legacy of Frank Lloyd Wright’s experimental approach to architecture in the desert landscape. Wright and his apprentices originally set up camp on the site in 1937, pouring small concrete pads and erecting canvas tents, a tradition that has evolved into the current Shelter Program. Denison’s project builds on that history, blending sustainable materials with a design deeply rooted in its environment.