Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Phoenix home up for auction

An Arizona home that architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed during the last year of his life is going on the Auction block next month.

The Norman Lykes House in Phoenix, the last residential property Wright worked on, will be up for bid on Oct. 16, according to Heritage Auctions. The home has been on and off the market over the last few years and was last listed at around $2.7 million.

There will be no minimum starting bid required, the Auction house said in a news release.

Wright designed the home, made of concrete blocks and nicknamed the "Circular Sun House. AP

Wright designed the home, made of concrete blocks and nicknamed the "Circular Sun House," before his death in April 1959 at age 91. It was commissioned by Norman and Aimee Lykes. It was last renovated in 1994.

The 3,095-square-foot (288-square-meter) property in the city's Biltmore neighbourhood has three bedrooms, three baths and is nestled on the edge of a mountain preserve. The buyer would also get all the original mid-century modern furnishings.

Jack Luciano, of the real estate brokerage company The Agency, says the next owner must be emotionally invested in the house.

Wright designed the home and it was commissioned by Norman and Aimee Lykes. AP

"We want to make sure the person that buys this house maintains the integrity of the home, remodels it, keeps it and loves it just like the former two owners have," Luciano told azfamily.com.

Wright's influence can be seen across the desert city. The lauded architect had a hand in designing the Arizona Biltmore resort, just a few miles from the Lykes House.

He is mostly known in the Southwest for creating his winter home and architecture school, Taliesin West, in 1937 in the Phoenix suburb of Scottsdale. Taliesin West remains popular with guided tours and presentations. It was one of eight Wright buildings added to UNESCO World Heritage list in July.

The Norman Lykes House will be up for auction in October 2019. AP

Another Phoenix home Wright designed for his son and daughter-in-law remains on the market. Constructed in 1952, the David and Gladys Wright House is currently listed at nearly $10 million. The owner of the spiral-shaped house had wanted to turn it into a museum and event space. But neighbours in the upscale Arcadia neighbourhood complained about possible traffic.

Last year, a plan to donate the house to the School of Architecture at Taliesin was called off.

Officials with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation declined to comment Friday.

Associated Press