Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West in Scottsdale reopens after a fatal accident

Taliesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright's winter home and studio in Scottsdale, Arizona, is due to reopen to visitors after a closure that followed a death on site. On 16 October, Brother Rogério Renato Mateucci, rector of the Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná in Brazil, was touring the UNESCO World Heritage site when strong winds dislodged a piece of the roof, which struck him. Police told the Arizona Republic it was acrylic. Local authorities judged the accident weather-related, and those who knew him have spoken warmly of his gentleness and love of beauty.

The roof is part of the building's story. Wright designed the place in 1937 as a desert camp that seemed to rise from the arid ground, covered in canvas that let light through and could be opened and closed to manage air and heat, as preservation director Rebecca Barron has explained. Canvas wasn't waterproof, though, and as the site moved to year-round use (it is now the foundation's headquarters and hosts public programmes), fixed acrylic panels went in during the 1990s. The foundation says it is replacing them with a tougher material closer to Wright's canvas.

After a safety inspection of its roofs and structures, the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation has added a weather station tracking wind, temperature, air pressure and rain to guide daily opening decisions. It plans to reopen on Saturday 24 October at 10am. If you're planning a visit, check before you go, particularly on blustery days.

Our summary of a story from Architectural Digest, published 22 October 2026. Read the original