For commissions / press inquiries
5102 N. Central Avenue
Phoenix, Arizona 85012 USA
5102 N. Central Avenue
Phoenix, Arizona 85012 USA
Employment Inquiries
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Wendell Burnette, FAIA Founder
Wendell Burnette is a self-taught architect with an internationally recognized body of work. Burnette’s eponymous studio Wendell Burnette Architects (WBA) has been based in Phoenix since 1996. Their multi-scaled work is concerned with space, light, context, and community. Originally from Nashville, Burnette discovered the southwest desert as an apprentice at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West. His eleven-year association with the studio of Will Bruder culminated in a six-year design collaboration as co-designer, project and field architect on the Phoenix Central Library, which was awarded AIA’s Twenty-five Year Award in 2021.
Wendell has lectured widely on his firm’s work and philosophy in the United States and abroad for decades. Burnette was a Professor of Practice at Arizona State University for fifteen years and for over twenty years has held Chaired Professorships and/or taught Visiting Studios at numerous Universities across the US including being a distinguished Option Studio Visiting Critic for the Earth Curvature Studio during the Fall Semester 2023 at the Harvard GSD.
WBA’s award-winning projects include residences located across the US, public libraries, community centers, museums, adaptive reuse, historic preservation, and hospitality (hotels, spas and restaurants) including the much-acclaimed Amangiri Resort in southern Utah, as well as other works internationally.
Awards
2025 AIA Interior Architecture Award Citation
AIA Arizona
21 E 22nd
2025 AIA Distinguished Architecture Honor Award
AIA Arizona
Floating Meditation Pavilion
2024 Dezeen Top 10 Cabin
Dezeen
Telescope House
2024 Dezeen Design Awards Shortlist
Dezeen
Telescope House
2024 AIA Distinguished Architecture Award Citation
AIA Arizona
Christopher’s at Wrigley Mansion
2024 AIA Distinguished Architecture Award Citation
AIA Arizona
Telescope House
2024 The Plan Award
Villa of the Year
The Plan
Telescope House
2023 AIA Interior Architecture Merit Award
AIA Arizona
Southwest Breast & Aesthetics
2023 The Plan Award Shortlist
The Plan
Southwest Breast & Aesthetics
2021 AIA National Twenty-five Year Award*
AIA National
Phoenix Central Library
2020 Luxe Red Regional Award
Luxe Red
Hidden Valley Desert House
2019 Masters of the Southwest Award
Phoenix Home & Garden
2018 AIA WMR Merit Award
AIA Western Mountain Region
Hidden Valley Desert House
The Design of the Year 2015 Nominee
London Design Museum
The Desert Courtyard House
Induction into the College of Fellows of the AIA for Design
AIA Convention 2015
2014 AIA Honor Award
AIA Arizona
Amangiri Resort
2014 AIA WMR Honor Award
AIA Western Mountain Region
Amangiri Resort
2013 AIA Honor Award
AIA Arizona
The Desert Courtyard House
2013 AIA WMR Award of Excellence
AIA Western Mountain Region
The Desert Courtyard House
2012 AIA WMR Merit Award
AIA Western Mountain Region
The Dialogue House
2012 AIA Honor Award
AIA Arizona
The Dialogue House
2011 Grand Award: North America
Andrew Harper’s
Hideaway Report
Best Resort Pool + Indelible Memories of 2010: Entranced
by Desert Sky
Amangiri Resort
2011 Travel + Leisure
Design Awards – Best Resort
Amangiri Resort
2010 James Beard Award Semifinalist
James Beard Foundation
St. Francis
2010 Wallpaper* Design Awards
Wallpaper* Best Retreat
Amangiri Resort
2009 SMOCA Contemporary Catalyst Award Nominee
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art
2009 AIA / ALA National Honor Award
AIA / ALA National
Palo Verde Library /
Maryvale Community Center
2009 Academy of Arts and Letters Award for Architecture
recognizes American architects whose work is characterized by a strong personal direction accompanied by an Exhibit
New York, New York
2007 AIA National Honor Award
Palo Verde Library /
Maryvale Community Center
2006 Best of the West Award
for Architectural Innovation
Palo Verde Library / Maryvale Community Center
2006 Record House Award
Architectural Record
The Field House
2006 AIA WMR Merit Award
AIA Western Mountain Region
The Field House
2006 AIA WMR Merit Award
AIA Western Mountain Region
Palo Verde Library / Maryvale Community Center
2006 AIA Merit Award
AIA Arizona
The Field House
Teachings/Lectures/Service
Moderator – Light Without Sun by Clara Kraft Isono, No Festival Required, [Phoenix, Arizona], April 2025; TSOA Special Lecture – Nader Tehrani in Conversation with Wendell Burnette, [Scottsdale, Arizona], March 2025; Jury Chair + Lecture for AIA Santa Fe’s 2024 Design Awards, [Santa Fe, New Mexico], November 2024; Lecture at Harvard HAUS, Harvard GSD, [Cambridge, Massachusetts], Fall 2023; Harvard Option Studio – Earth Curvature: Context as Material / How to Read Place, Harvard GSD (Harvard Graduate School of Design), [Cambridge, Massachusetts], Fall 2023; Jury Chair + Keynote Speaker for AIA Cleveland’s 2022 Design Awards, [Cleveland, Ohio], May 2022; The Frank D. Welch Memorial Lecture at The Dallas Architecture Forum, Dallas Museum of Art, [Dallas, Texas], June 2022; Jury for AIA Dallas Design Awards, [Dallas, Texas], October 2020; Lecture at University of Houston, [Houston, Texas], September 2020; Keynote Speaker at AIA CRAN (Custom Residential Architects Network Conference), [Scottsdale, Arizona], September 2019; Lecture at RØROS Seminar, [RØROS, Norway], May 2019; WBA 23rd Anniversary Party, 5102 N Central, [Phoenix], May 2019; William F. Stern Visiting Critic – Bayou Edge City Studio + Dialogues in Space Lecture, The University of Houston Hines College of Architecture and Design, [Houston, Texas], Fall 2018; Jury+Lecture for AIA Minnesota Awards, [Minneapolis, Minnesota], November 2017; Lecture at IIT Architecture, [Chicago, Illinois], Fall 2018; UNLV School of Architecture Lecture, [Las Vegas, Nevada], September 2017; Lecture – Dialogues in Space for SPACE CITY Lecture Series, Seattle Public Library, [Seattle, Washington], July 2017; Panel Jury at Taliesin West, [Scottsdale, Arizona], December 2016; Dialogues in Space – Book Launch, 5012 N Central, [Phoenix, Arizona], September 2016; Public Lecture Series – Dialogues in Space: Poetics of Place Specific Architecture, Shanghai Bookstore, [Shanghai, China], Spring 2016; Public Lecture + Exhibit – Dialogues in Space: Poetics of Place Specific Architecture, The University of Hong Kong, HKU Shanghai Center, [Shanghai, China], Spring 2016; Public Lecture Series – Dialogues in Space: Poetics of Place Specific Architecture, The University of Hong Kong, [Hong Kong, China], Spring 2016; Lecture at Clemson Architecture Center, Clemson University – Charleston Innovation Campus, [Charleston, South Carolina], February 2016; Professor of Practice, Arizona State University, [ASU Design School], 2010 - 2016; Barber McMurry Visiting Professor, University of Tennessee College of Architecture and Design, Earth Curvature Studio: Context as Material / How to Read Place, University of Tennessee, [Knoxville, Tennessee], Fall 2015; Exhibit + Lecture – Dialogues in Space, University of Tennessee, [Knoxville, Tennessee], Fall 2015; Exhibitor – Design of the Year 2015, London Design Museum, [London, England], 2015; Jury for AIA New Mexico Awards, [Albuquerque, New Mexico], November 2015; Panelist at Contemporary Forum – “What Is It About This Place”, Phoenix Art Museum, [Phoenix, Arizona], November 2015; Lecture at AIA Arizona Lunch Fellows, AIA Arizona, [Phoenix, Arizona], September 2015; Storytelling – Arizona Storytellers, Scottsdale Center for Performing Arts, [Scottsdale, Arizona], April 2015; Super Jury for the University of Texas at Arlington, [Arlington, Texas], April 2015; Jury for AIA Austin Awards, [Austin, Texas], April 2015; Lecture + Jury Member for the National Concrete Masonry Association Competition at Pennsylvania State University, [State College, Pennsylvania], April 2015; Lecture + Panelist at the 361 Design Conference, [Mumbai, India], March 2015; Lecture at Mississippi State University, [Starkville, Mississippi], September 2014; Lecture at AIA Tennessee Convention, [Nashville, Tennessee], July 2014; Visiting Professor at University of Texas at Austin, School of Architecture, [Austin, Texas], Fall 2014; Studio – Earth Curvature: Context as Material / How to Read Place, University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture, [Austin, Texas], Fall 2014; Lecture at AIA/ULI (Urban Land Institute), [Phoenix, Arizona], June 2014; Lecture at Local 1st Arizona, [Phoenix, Arizona], April 2014; Lecture at SMOCA Architecture Slide Slam, [Scottsdale, Arizona], April 2014; Nancy M. & Edward D. Fox Urban Design Critic Endowed Chair – Earth Curvature Studio at School of Architecture, University of Southern California, [Los Angeles, CA], Spring 2014; Visiting Professor / Lecture at School of Architecture and Planning, University of Arizona, [Tucson, Arizona], Fall 2013 / Spring 2014; Lecture + Studio Critic at Rural Studio’s 20th Anniversary, Rural Studio of Auburn University, [Newbern, Alabama], November 2013; Ralph Hawkins Visiting Professor Chair Position, School of Architecture at University of Texas at Arlington, [Dallas, Texas], Fall 2013; Jury Member for AIA New Mexico Awards, [Albuquerque, New Mexico], August 2013; Lecture / Lead Studio Critic at Dalhousie University School of Architecture, [Halifax, Canada], March 2013; Wunderkammer at the Invitation of Tod Williams & Billie Tsien – Casa Scaffali Exhibition, “Box of Light”, Venice Biennale, [Venice, Italy], November 2012; Changing Landscapes Lecture Series, Alaska Design Forum Lecture, [Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau], January 2012; Lecture at Kansas State University, Department of Architecture at Kansas State University, [Kansas City, Missouri], April 2012; Reunion Lecture at Ghost Lab 13: Plotting a New Course for Architecture, Ghost Lab, Summer 2011; Exhibit for the Design Competition: New Cottages at Fallingwater, Visitors Center Gallery, [Fallingwater, Mill Run, Pennsylvania], September - November 2011; Program Author + Jury Chair – Earth Curvature: A Local | Global Rest Area, Lyceum Fellowship, [Salt Lake City, Utah], March 2011; Lecture at Washington University St. Louis, Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, [St. Louis, Missouri], February 2011; Visiting Professor: Graduate Level Option Flint Hills Studio at Washington University St. Louis, [Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts], 2011; Lecture at University of Kansas, School of Architecture Design & Planning, [Lawrence, Kansas], October 2010; Lecture at AIA Utah/AIA Western Mountain Region, Considering Context 2010 Design Conference, [Deer Valley, Utah], October 2010; Presenter at AIA Utah/AIA Western Mountain Region, Young Architects Forum PechaKucha Night, [Deer Valley, Utah], October 2010; Exhibit / Lecture – Crafting Space, University of Tennessee, College of Architecture and Design, [Knoxville, Tennessee], September 2010; Fallingwater Cottages Design Competition, Second Place, [Mill Run, Pennsylvania], May 2010; Design Competition: New Cottages at Fallingwater, The Heinz Architectural Center, Carnegie Museum of Art, [Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania], June - August 2010; Lead Juror Texas Society of Architects Studio Awards, [Phoenix, Arizona], June 2010; Panelist on The Restaurant Revolution in Uptown Phoenix, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, [Scottsdale, Arizona], April 2010; Lecture at Montana State University, [Bozeman, Montana], April 2010; Lecture at Oklahoma State University, [Stillwater, Oklahoma], March 2010; Lecture at Celebrate Architecture AIA Louisiana, [Baton Rouge, Louisiana], March 2010; Panelist on From Frank Lloyd Wright to John Lautner and After: Reassessing the Organic Tradition in American Architecture, [Palm Springs, California], February 2010; Panelist on Cities in Transformation – Phoenix : Barcelona, Symposium held at Arizona State University, [Tempe, Arizona], February 2010; Lecture at University of New Mexico, [Albuquerque, New Mexico], February 2010; Exhibit / Lecture – Crafting Space, University of New Mexico, [Albuquerque, New Mexico], January 2010; Lecture at AIA Arkansas, [Fayetteville, Arkansas], October 2009; Lecture at Washington University St. Louis, Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts [St. Louis, Missouri], October 2009; Lecture at University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas, October 2009; ‘Zodchestvo 2009’ Exhibit, Union of Architects of Russia, [Moscow, Russia], October 2009; Jury Member Sunset – AIA Western Home Awards, [Menlo Park, California], September 2009; John Williams Visiting Chair in Architecture Option Studio at University of Arkansas, [Fayetteville, Arkansas], 2009 - 2010; Lecture at Taliesin West, [Scottsdale, AZ], April 2009; Lecture at University of South Florida, [Tampa, Florida], February 2009; Exhibit + Lecture “Dialogues in Space: Process and Ideas in the Work of Wendell Burnette Architects”, Arizona State University, School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, [Tempe, Arizona], 2008; Exhibit / Lecture: Architecture in the Sonoran Desert, Association of Architects of Catalonia, Barcelona, [Barcelona, Spain], 2008; Lecture at Sonoma County Museum, [Sonoma, California], 2008; Guest Architect + Lecture at University of Oklahoma, Bruce Goff Chair of Creative Architecture Workshop, [Cleveland, Oklahoma], 2008; Guest Architect + Lecture at Tulane University, Architecture Week Workshop, [New Orleans, Louisiana], 2007; Jury Member Lyceum Fellowship, [Cambridge, Massachusetts], 2007; Lecture at Rhode Island School of Design, [Providence, Rhode Island], 2007; Jury Member + Lecture AIA Portland, [Portland, Oregon], 2007; Lecture at Dallas Architecture Forum, [Dallas, Texas], 2007; Lecture at Washington University St. Louis, [St. Louis, Missouri], September 2006; Lecture at “Emergent Architecture”, International Symposium of Architecture, [Monterrey, Mexico], October 2005; Lecture at University of Florida School of Architecture, [Gainesville, Florida], September 2005; Lecture at Western Interiors & Design Southwest Design Conference, [Santa Fe, New Mexico], June 2005; Lecture at San Diego AIA Museum of Contemporary Art Lecture Series, [San Diego, California], May 2005; Lecture at the Rural Studio, Auburn University, [Newbern, Alabama], April 2005; “Record Houses 50th Anniversary Tribute” Exhibit – Architectural Record, [New York, New York], 2005; Lecture at Lawrence Technological University, [Southfield, Michigan], November 2004; Jury Member AIA San Antonio, [San Antonio, Texas], October 2004; Guest Architect / Lecturer at GHOST 8, [Nova Scotia, Canada], July 2004; Lecture at AIA San Antonio, [San Antonio, Texas], November 2003; Keynote Speaker: “Devils and Design in the Desert,” AIAS conference at Arizona State University, October 2003; Jury Member AIA Los Angeles, [Los Angeles, California], October 2003; Exhibit; “SouthwestNET” at Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, [Scottsdale, Arizona], 2003; Lecture at City College of the City University of New York, [New York City, New York], October 2003; Teaching Seminar – “Practicing Out There: Regionalism in Architecture,” Harvard GSD, Summer 2003; Jury Member AIA Austin, [Austin, Texas], May 2003; Lecture at University of Arkansas, [Fayetteville, Arkansas], February 2003; Smithsonian Home Tour “The Architecture of Landscape and Light”, 2003; Invited Lecturer at SAIA (South African Institute of Architects) National Conference entitled “Architecture for All,” Bloemfontein, [South Africa], Jury Member SAIA Rome Scholarship Competition in Architecture, 2002; Exhibit; “Requiem for the Staircase”, Centre de Cultura Contemporania de Barcelona, [Barcelona, Spain], 2002; Lecture at University of Houston, [Houston, Texas], February 2002; Lecture at Sci-ARC, [Los Angles, CA], October 2001; Lecture at Kent State University, [Kent, Ohio], October 2001; Lecture at Arizona State University, [Tempe, Arizona], October 2001; Lecture at Texas Tech University, [Lubbock, Texas], Spring 2000; Lecture at University of Utah, [Salt Lake City, Utah], Spring 2000; Exhibit; “Design Culture Now”, National Design Triennial @ the SMITHSONIAN, Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, [New York, New York], 2000; Brown Bag Lecture, School of Architecture, [Tucson, Arizona], March 2000; Faculty Associate at University of Arizona, School of Architecture, [Tucson, Arizona], 5th Year Studio - Spring 2000; Assistant Professor at Arizona State University, College of Architecture, [Tempe, Arizona], 2000; AIA Las Vegas Chapter “Works” Lecture, UNLV College of Architecture, [Las Vegas, Utah], June 2000; Panel of Architects Debate “Arcology: the City, in the Image of Man” with Paolo Soleri, [Phoenix Central Library], December 1999; “Economy of Climate and Beauty” Lecture / Speaker – Frank Lloyd Wright Conservancy, Annual Conference, [Scottsdale, Arizona], November 1999; Faculty Associate at Arizona State University, College of Architecture, [Tempe, Arizona], 6th Year Studio - Fall 1999; Presenter at “Scarpa in Practice” Symposium at University of Toronto, College of Architecture and Landscape Design, [Toronto, Canada], September 1999; AIA Northern Nevada “Works Lecture”, [Reno, Nevada], May 1999; “Taliesin Fellows” Lecture, Carnegie Mellon University, [Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania], April 1999; 1999 Emerging Voices Lecture, Architectural League of New York, [New York, New York], March 1999; Distinguished Visiting Critic at The University of New Mexico College of Architecture, [Albuquerque, New Mexico], Spring 1998; Lecture at Los Angeles Forum for Architecture and Urban Design, Summer Lectures 97, at R.M. Schindler’s “Kings Road” House, 1997; Adjunct Faculty at Arizona State University, College of Architecture, [Tempe, Arizona], 4th Year Studio - Spring 1997; Jury Member AIA Awards, [State of Utah], Spring 1997; Visiting Lecturer at Arizona State University, College of Architecture, ‘Young Architects Series’, Fall 1995; Guest Teacher at Educational Management Group, [Scottsdale, Arizona], ‘Live Interactive Video Link’ with Red Mountain High School Winter 1996; Visiting Studio Critic at Arizona State University, College of Architecture, [Tempe, Arizona], since 1992;