The desert that surrounds Taliesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright’s winter home and studio, is no stranger to camping. Which is perhaps why it is the perfect place to unveil the Airstream Frank Lloyd Wright Usonian Limited Edition Travel Trailer, a new collaboration between the architect’s eponymous foundation and the American travel trailer brand.
When Wright arrived in the Sonoran Desert in December of 1937, he made two purchases. First, 600 acres of land, on which Taliesin West would eventually sit. Then, shortly after, a handful of tents for his apprentices to sleep in while they helped build the new property. Even once construction finished, it became a tradition that his disciples would build temporary shelters among the cacti, bushes, and sandy soil. “This was a camp, and Wright was moved by the way canvas from the tents diffused light. That’s what inspired the canvas roofs on Taliesin West today,” Sally Russel, the director of licensing at the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, said at a press briefing at Taliesin West about the trailer.
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Coincidentally, Airstream’s founder, Wally Byam, began designing trailers for people who didn’t like sleeping on the ground in tents—a sect his first wife belonged to. Nearly 100 years later, the Usonian trailer lets owners enjoy the desert (or any part of the world) Wright-style, while still taking advantage of modern comforts like a bed, shower, and kitchen. “I’ve been dropping the idea of a Frank Lloyd Wright trailer into the thought mill at Airstream for about 20 years,” Bob Wheeler, the president and CEO of Airstream, said at the briefing.
Inside the Frank Lloyd Wright Airstream
At just over 28 feet long, the trailer is among the larger of Airstream’s offerings, which range from 16 to 33 feet. From the outside, the company’s instantly recognizable aluminum shell offers little evidence of the idiosyncrasy that’s on full display inside. But from the moment the door opens—which is printed with a leaf motif designed by a Taliesin apprentice—Wright’s influence is all encompassing.
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“An Airstream customer will have never seen something like this in our company history,” Wheeler added. “They’ll be struck by the warmth of the color palette, the amount of light that comes in, and the obvious midcentury flair.”
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For the Wright fan, there is no shortage of Easter eggs to uncover. Some are obvious—the dining chairs mirror the architect’s Robie chairs, one of his most famous furniture designs. (In classic Airstream fashion, they collapse with the push of a button when not in use.) Other elements, like a lighting panel that runs the length of the trailer’s roof, are more subtle. This particular feature was inspired by a similar ceiling fixture in Taliesin West. There are “so many little details, and they all have a meaning. You’re not going to see an accident,” Henry Hendrix, chief marketing officer at the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, said.
The layout remains the primary similarity to Airstream’s other campers: The kitchenette and dining areas are in the front, the bathroom and closet in the middle, and additional seating and sleeping space is in the rear. But in each, a Wright reference ups the ante. The central section, which engulfs guests in a wood-tone embrace, offers the kind of compression and release the organic architect is known for. By the time users reach the back, the window-wrapped posterior feels much bigger than it is—a spatial illusion that is particularly welcome in limited square feet.
“From my perspective, it was a validation of the design that the trailer handles light in a similar way to a Frank Lloyd Wright house,” said Andrew Pielage, the photographer who shot the trailer for its marketing campaign. Pielage has photographed more than a hundred Wright homes and says the way light and shadows appear in the spaces is the most captivating aspect of the architect’s work. “Good design can handle light very well. And so capturing that was my priority when shooting the trailer.”
The Airstream Frank Lloyd Wright Usonian Limited Edition Travel Trailer is for sale now and costs $184,900. Only 200 units will be made, which will go into production as they’re purchased. “Both Wright and Wally Byam had a vision for the experiences they wanted people to have,” Hendrix added. “They both delivered really brilliant ways of thinking about how to live.”
