The Circular Sun House is the Norman Lykes House, a residence at 6836 N 36th Street in Phoenix, Arizona. Frank Lloyd Wright designed it in 1959 for Norman and Aimee Lykes; after Wright’s death that year, his apprentice John Rattenbury supervised its completion in 1967. Its defining feature is a series of intersecting circular forms shaped to the steep desert hillside.
What is the Circular Sun House?
The name refers to the Norman Lykes House, a late residential design by Frank Lloyd Wright. The house’s website calls it Wright’s last residential design, while Architectural Digest describes it as often considered his final design. Those descriptions make the distinction clear: it is widely associated with the end of Wright’s residential work, but the superlative is not presented uniformly as an uncontested fact.
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Wright created the design in 1959 for Norman and Aimee Lykes. He died that year, before the house was built. Construction was completed in 1967 under the supervision of John Rattenbury, a Wright apprentice. The design is Wright’s; Rattenbury oversaw its realization after the architect’s death. The house’s website gives its address as 6836 N 36th Street, Phoenix, Arizona 85018.
How does the house respond to its desert site?
The house is organized around intersecting circular elements and curved walls rather than a conventional box-like plan. Architectural Digest describes the circular forms as fitted to the contours of the land. That relationship between plan and terrain is central to the design: the house follows the hillside rather than treating the slope as a blank platform.
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U.S. Modernist’s property sheet adds that the design worked around rock outcroppings and mountain forms, and reports that concrete blocks were carried by hand to reduce disturbance to the desert site. These are the property sheet’s descriptions of the construction approach, not a claim that the building avoided altering the landscape altogether.
What makes the architecture distinctive inside and out?
The rounded geometry continues through the house in curved walls and windows, with custom built-in furniture integrated into the interior. The property website also describes a crescent-shaped pool and a living room that opens to a broad view over Phoenix. These details help show how the design’s curves connect the interior, outdoor space and hillside setting.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.“This circular home with rounded windows and walls, custom built-in furniture, and a crescent shaped pool is perched on a mountain overlooking Phoenix with a 180-degree view from the living room.”
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Can visitors go inside the Circular Sun House?
The house’s website advertises short-term stays through Airbnb and Vrbo, and the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy also lists it as an overnight stay. That lodging information should not be mistaken for regular museum hours or general public access. Booking availability and terms can change, so check the current listing before making plans.
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