04. Textile Block Construction

Textile Block Mock-up at Ocatilla Desert Camp

With his newest project, Wright wanted to correct what he saw as a flaw of the Arizona Biltmore. The Biltmore used textile blocks as a façade. Wright felt that the textile blocks should be structural, and endeavored to design his new hotel that way. Structural textile blocks were considered radical, so to demonstrate this idea Wright’s team built a plaster mock-up structure at Ocatilla, pictured right. The blocks for the San Marcos in the Desert were inspired by the ribs of a saguaro cactus.

Textile Block for the San Marcos of the Desert