A Visit to Phoenix

This weekend, I was in Phoenix. I live about ten minutes away from this crazy thing. Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1950's, the spire was actually built in 2004 by Scottsdale city. Having never moved, I grew up hearing many theories about what the obelisk actually was: a weird geometric Saguaro, a weird nondescript desert plant, a weird architectural thing.

I never really figured out what it was, so I researched. The spire was originally intended to be a part of Wright's State Capitol renovation, which was never carried out due to budget issues. Many architectural theorists link the design to Wright's tree obsession. It has a taproot foundation, one of Wright's trademark designs. The S.C. Johnson Research Tower in Racine is another Wright design, a tree-like structure built on a taproot foundation that sinks far into the ground. Our class discussion of Modernist v. postmodernist architecture involved Wright, and he was classified as a Modernist. Though his designs resemble natural elements of the Arizona desert, a flat surface had to be razed in order to prepare the land for the foundation. Scottsdale is pretty flat anyhow, but the landscape still needed to be altered for the landmark, and it clearly stands out.

Wright's taproot foundation effectively evidences Modernist ideals, specifically the hierarchal structures that all function "above ground." Deleuze and Guattari, in contrast, characterize the rhizomatic structure as a more effective means at looking at power. The hierarchal reality of Wright's design is analogous to the positions of power at the State (interns, supervisors, elected officials, etc). Is this way of understanding power ineffective? Are more prestigious positions only powerful in their relation to others (a web of connections on a flat field vs. vertical levels of power)?