Residence for Margaret, Countess of Suffolk     1937 Architect: Richard Morse and Arthur Brown Designed as the winter home for one of Tucson's most famous residents of the 1930s, this house was groundbreaking as probably the first true example of the Modern Movement in architecture in southern Arizona. Large, undivided panes of glass, smooth plaster surfaces with square corners, and the lack of ornamentation were all clear departures from conventional residential design in Tucson at the time. The primary focus of the interior design was on mountain and desert views, the light quality and use of materials, such as wood and travertine. The interior paint colors were taken directly from Swiss architect LeCorbusier's Villa Savoye, but in a foreshadowing of the trajectory of Modern architecture to come in Tucson, the exterior of the house was painted an earth tone to reflect the surrounding desert. The significant scale, well-known owner and progressive design led the house to be published nationally in the 1940 book The Modern House in America and in Architectural Record magazine in 1941. Though the house was expanded by the second owners, the original house is nearly unchanged from its original design.
Rosenberg Residence    1946 Architect: Arthur Brown This was one of a series of houses that Brown designed in the 1940s organized around a linear floor plan that allowed for the implementation of passive solar design concepts and more comfortable and energy efficient living. One hundred feet long and narrow in section, the roof is sloped upward toward the south. A large window wall along the southern façade allows significant winter sunlight to penetrate the house, where the heat is absorbed by the thermal mass of the concrete floors and an interior trombe wall. Natural ventilation is drawn in on the north side of the house and exhausted through vents between the roof joists along the south wall. This was an early application of linear stacked stone veneer on the exterior, which reinforces the horizontal character and modest simplicity of the façade. The house received a Progressive Architecture Award in 1946 and was published in Progressive Architecture magazine in 1947 and 1948.
Bazar Residence    1947 Architect: William and Sylvia Wilde The understated street presence of this house--defined largely by a carport--is in stark contrast to the experience of the unique and innovative interior and patio spaces within. A simple horizontal roof plane covers the entire house, while extensive use of glass on the north and south result in brightly lit interiors. The innovative floor plan was interlaced with two exterior patios to create a more dynamic spatial experience, though one of those patios has since been enclosed. A sinuous brick wall runs through the middle of the house, separating public and private zones. Renovations and expansions by Arthur Brown (1952) and Cook and Swaim (1962) were done in keeping with Wilde's original intention.
Clothier Residence    1947 Architect: Arthur Brown This residence was one of a series of houses Brown designed that was organized around a linear circulation pattern. The small-scale house has an incredibly intimate feel in the living spaces. A subtle angle between the two wings of the house creates a more welcoming street façade. Designed before the advent of air-conditioning, the north-south orientation and linear plan demonstrate Brown's evolving recognition of the importance of passive solar design for Modern homes with significant glass exposure. The house received a national AIA Honor Award and was published on the cover of Architectural Record magazine in May 1948 and in Architectural Forum in 1949.
Rappaport Residence    1948 Architect: William and Sylvia Wilde The self-shading sloped window wall that extends the entire length of the southern façade is the primary character-defining feature of this house. This was one of the earliest residential uses of sloped glass in Tucson. The home's primary circulation spine runs along the sloped window wall, which is supported by a series of V-shaped posts and lined with built-in cabinets for storage. The original porch in the back of the house has been enclosed, and adversely impacts the original intent. The house was published nationally in Architectural Record in 1948, and internationally in the British magazine Ideal Home in 1951.
Snyder Residence    1948 Architect: Anne Rysdale Originally designed as a spec home, this house is particularly significant because it was designed by one of Arizona's only female architects of the time. The expressed, horizontal roof plane was one of the primary character-defining features of Modern architecture in Tucson in the 1940s and 1950s. The use of brown brick reflected an effort to strip architecture of the traditional associations of red brick, while corner windows and large panes of glass created brightly lit spaces. The curved roof form on the south has its roots in Streamline Moderne.
Sanger-Slee Residence    1949 Architect: Arthur Brown This house was designed for Margaret Sanger, an internationally recognized advocate for family planning, who lived in Tucson on and off for the last 30 years of her life. Designed as a viewing platform, the floor plan radiates outward from a central dining space, and the trapezoidal rooms expand outward and upward, drawing the focus to the panoramic windows and exterior landscape. Unique ship-lapped ceiling planks result in a series of shadow lines that create a transverse rhythm to the viewing axis of each room.
Diamos Residence    1951 Architect: Scholer Sakellar Fuller This house was one of the earliest examples of an architect integrating modern design principles with the vernacular architecture of the region. Sleek, horizontal roof planes intersect the Territorial-inspired adobe walls and created an early vision of a regional Modernism. This was also one of the earliest applications of burnt adobe in Modern architecture. Most remarkable about this house is the floor plan--the aggregation of independent forms and the reciprocal relationship between interior and exterior space was perhaps 25 years ahead of its time.
Woodin Residence    1951 Architect: Frederick Eastman Designed for an avid naturalist and his family adjacent to a significant riparian area, this house was intended as a viewing platform for native fauna. The large windows and clerestories of the living area are covered by a butterfly roof, unprecedented at the time in Tucson. The juxtaposition of the butterfly roof and more traditional burnt adobe forms was an early effort towards creating a regional Modernism. Eastman was best known for his work at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum.
Ball-Paylore Residence    1952 Architect: Arthur Brown Moveable, corrugated-aluminum sun shades that rotate on a track along the perimeter of the rear yard patio provide shade for the patio and the glass-enclosed interiors, giving the homeowners great flexibility in the use of this house. The interior spaces are contained within a hexagonal plan anchored by a central fireplace, and the unique geometry is carried through the entire interior design. Also of note is the rejection of pretense on the primary street façade, where the carport is essentially the entire character of the house. The house was published in Sunset and House Beautiful magazines, and is nearly in its original condition.
Wolf Residence    1953 Designer: Frank Wolf (unconfirmed) Reflecting a trend of the mid-1950s, the exterior character of this house was designed as a balanced asymmetrical composition of independent elements, rather than as a unified, singular form. Of particular note is the complex geometry and detailing of the living room, which creates a surprisingly intimate and restful space. The original house remains unchanged since its inception, while a carefully considered addition is in keeping with the original intent.
Estes Residence    1954 Architect: Arthur Brown Originally designed for a local homebuilder and developer, this house, like Brown's Ball/Paylore Residence, is organized in plan by a geometric form; in this case, an equilateral triangle. But the most remarkable aspects of the house are the unique carport form that provides the primary character of the house from the street, and the intricate detailing that arises in the intersection of the wooden rafters and the angled, northeast-facing window wall. Although a series of additions have undermined the original geometric intention, the original interior layout remains largely intact.
Lusk Model Homes    1954-55 Designers: Robert Andrews Little; Arthur Rader The Lusk Corporation was one of the nation's premier homebuilders in the mid-1950s, and their San Rafael and Indian Ridge subdivisions both received the Award of Merit from the National Home Builders Association in 1955 and 1956, respectively. The model homes that initiated the "Home for All America" was a 1954 prototype developed by architect Robert Little for Better Homes and Gardens magazine as a flexible and affordable design that could be adapted across the country. In Tucson, the Lusk Corporation embraced the design and had Rader interpret it for southwestern living in San Rafael Estates. The simple rectangular floor plan is a model of efficiency, with a long, low-profile front elevation that presents a modest simplicity to the street. Continuous ribbon windows along the front elevation provide substantial daylight and extensive views of neighborhood activity. A continuous window wall along the back side of the house provides the opportunity for indoor-outdoor living that these communities promoted. This configuration also offers the advantages of passive solar design when properly oriented on the site. The house is constructed of burnt adobe, with wooden rafters and tongue-and-groove decking, giving the home a richness of materials and a regional character that distinguishes it from the dozens of other models across the country. The "Monterrey" model, designed by Rader, is a variation on the "Home for All America" and was used in both San Rafael and Indian Ridge. The L-shaped floor plan is organized around a central kitchen and family room. The upward-sloping roof and asymmetrical corner fireplace of the great room direct the focus of the space to the exterior. Lusk offered several options for the "Monterrey," providing owners with flexibility depending on needs, site orientation and desired façade. The "Montclaire" model was an adaptation of the "Monterrey" that provided a more formal dining room and a master bedroom with backyard access.
Friedman Residence    1955 Architect: Bernard Friedman Friedman's personal residence features rigorously unadorned and articulated brick walls, low-sloped roof planes, expressed structure, and full-height windows. Sited with skill, the house makes the most of its suburban corner lot. By creating and engaging a variety of outdoor spaces the architect gives the modest house the feel of a rambling estate. The front façade was designed as a symmetrically balanced composition of building forms that focuses on a breezeway-style enclosed entry, which separates public and private wings and leads to the rear yard. An open lattice ties the main house to a guest house and defines a grassy play yard.
Rubenstein Residence    1955 Architect: William and Sylvia Wilde This house is characterized by floating horizontal roof planes, large panes of frameless glass, glue-laminated beams, red brick and bright colors. The design connects the interior to the exterior by extending interior roofs and walls to the exterior. In addition, an entry pergola continues through the interior of the house to the backyard. The floating roof planes combined with clerestory windows give the house an almost ramada-like quality. Wilde was a master of architectural details, and nowhere is this more evident than in the Rubenstein Residence. The intersection of disparate materials is carefully considered and part of the aesthetic quality of the house.
Custom-Flex Residence    1957 Designer: Tom Gist Gist's effort to provide a more affordable home for middle-class families resulted in the Custom-Flex concept. Gist's usual practice was to design a home specifically for each client's needs after extensive consultation, but the Custom-Flex provided for pre-determined variations in the layout of bedrooms, living areas and utilities within a fixed footprint to achieve lower costs. Similar to his typical custom houses with angled burnt adobe walls, low profile roof, efficient floor plan and extensive use of north- and south-facing glass, these houses are reduced to the essentials and achieve a minimalist simplicity.
Altaffer Residence    1958 Architect: Arthur Brown This house is unified beneath an expressed horizontal roof plane that was typical of mid-century Modern design in the 1950s, but the straightforward front façade belies the unique living found within. The sliding glass entry doors open into an outdoor courtyard that is the heart of the home and is a modern interpretation of the traditional courtyard house of the southwest. The living spaces open onto the central court which provides the primary circulation between public spaces and the more private bedrooms. The house was published in Sunset and House Beautiful magazines.
Gist Residence    1958 Designer: Tom Gist Gist designed and built more than 150 houses in Tucson, but none so innovative and unique as the one he designed for himself. The primary features of the residence are the expressed structure that gives the house its character from the street, the unique modern planning that creates the ultimate in indoor-outdoor living, and its regional response. Three separate screened porches with eight sets of French doors and more than 150 linear feet of floor-to-ceiling glass connect indoor and outdoor spaces. The innovative use of battered walls of exposed-aggregate concrete and burnt adobe not only integrates the house into its site, but also to its southwestern context.
Bloom Residence    1959 Architect: Knipe and Dunham An outstanding example of the Palm Springs Modern ranch-resort style home, the sprawling complex of yellow brick and low-pitched roofs has a distinctive horizontal character that is accentuated by the long circular drive. The understated front façade and low profile of the roof contrast with the near transparency of the living areas to the backyard, where the focus is on indoor-outdoor living with extensive patios, oasis landscaping, fountains and a swimming pool. Interior materials and details, such as terrazzo floors, sleek wooden geometric screens, built-in furnishings and brightly lit interiors, typify the era.
Finkelstein Residence    1959 Architect: Ralph Haver The Finkelstein Residence is currently the only known custom house in Tucson designed by Haver, the renowned Phoenix modernist. The home is designed around an enclosed central courtyard that has an almost terrarium-like quality. The exterior character of the house is defined by its low, horizontal profile, exposed rafters, burnt adobe, south-facing ribbon windows and north-facing walls of glass. The home is essentially unchanged from its original design
Fraser Residence    1959 Architect: Arthur Brown The Fraser Residence is an extension and elaboration on Brown's earlier 1940s linear floor plan designs organized around circulation and passive solar orientation. The long, horizontal roof line of the front façade and expressed rafters were typical of Modern architecture at the time. The dramatic great room extends upward to the north mountain views, and the entry courtyard and carport are fully integrated into the design composition. A recent, complete remodel of the interior by architect Kim Acorn has left the exterior brick shell fully intact and retained the interior spatial character.
McInnes Residence    1959 Architect: Arthur Brown The minimalist steel and glass pavilion that encloses the primary living spaces of this house is covered by a unique hyperbolic paraboloid roof form built with two layers of corrugated steel sandwiching panels of rigid insulation. Walls are constructed of stacked concrete masonry. Lush landscaping provides privacy for the glass house from the street and defines the primary experience of the interior. Recent modifications have adversely impacted the original design, but are in keeping with the spirit of the original intent.
Stevens Residence    1959 Designer: Tom Gist The Stevens Residence is a representative example of much of Gist's custom home building in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Classic Gist character-defining features include the linear floor plan, mortar-wiped burnt adobe construction, and articulated sills of burnt adobe in a rowlock configuration. Walls of windows are oriented to maximize views of golf course greens and the western face of Pusch Ridge, while characteristic deep roof overhangs help protect the interior from the desert sun. One of Gist's common floor finishes, polished brick, unifies the open living and dining areas. A well-designed interior remodeling has retained the unique features of this home.
Timan Residence    1959 Architect: Nicholas Sakellar In an innovative use of materials, this house was constructed of stone, wood, concrete and integrally-colored concrete block to create a regional response to the Sonoran Desert. This was one of the earliest applications of colored concrete block in Tucson. An expressed roof plane creates a datum, whereas the floors vary with the topography of the site. The floor plan is oriented around views of the swimming pool and city lights, as well as the Catalina Mountains. The unique ceiling design uses simple 1x6s and 2x4s to create an intricately textured surface. A master bedroom addition was built in the 1970s. A more recent renovation by Phyllis Fritchey Nickel is in keeping with the original intent and perhaps improves on the original design. The house was published nationally in Progressive Architecture magazine in 1962.
Wycoff Residence    1959 Designer: Tom Gist Built for world-renowned UA physicist Ralph W.G. Wyckoff, this home is representative of many homes Gist built in the Catalina Foothills in the late 1950s and is in nearly original condition. Character-defining features include the linear floor plan, mortar-wiped burnt adobe construction and pre-cast concrete sills. Gist's careful siting of the home maximizes passive solar gain in winter, and deep roof overhangs shade the home in summer. Living spaces have expansive views of the surrounding mountains and city lights. This home, an excellent example of Gist's regional interpretation of modern desert living, may be threatened with demolition.
Kolins Residence    1961 Architect: James Gresham The primary character-defining features of this house are the expressed horizontal roof planes that create a long, low profile on the exterior, burnt adobe infill walls and decorative concrete-block screen walls that provide shade on the east and west. The interior of the house is organized around a small central courtyard with continuous clerestory windows that provide substantial daylight to the interior living spaces. The white walls and bright light combine to create an almost ethereal quality where the roof appears to float overhead. Recent interior modifications are in keeping with the original intent of the house, but modifications to the exterior, including the addition of a new carport on the front of the house, have undermined the integrity of the original design.
Sakellar Residence    1961 Architect: Nicholas Sakellar Designed for his own family, this house represented a shift in the architect's continuing effort to situate his Modern designs into a desert southwest context. The use of smooth white plaster on the exterior was uncommon in Tucson's Modern architecture of the 1950s and 1960s, but it was used here as an homage to the more traditional use of stucco-over-adobe construction. These smooth surfaces provide a dramatic contrast to the richly colored textures of the interiors. The traditional carport has been reinterpreted as an extension of the porte cochere, defined by a simple form of suspended corrugated steel.
Windsor Park Residence    1961 Architect: Ambrose and Swanson and Associates Builder and developer Herbert Oxman was particularly interested in creating quality designs for mid-range housing. The Windsor Park model house represented perhaps the highest aspirations of mid-century Modern tract subdivision living in Tucson, in the tradition of California builder Joseph Eichler. The transverse ranch home was thoroughly Modern and has the largest floor-to-ceiling window walls of any Tucson tract home, before or since, yet the extensive use of burnt adobe made the house a distinctly Tucson product. Wood rafters and tongue-and-groove decking are left exposed in the interior living spaces. The design includes an independent carport structure that allowed great flexibility in situating the houses on irregular lots. The house was published nationally in American Home magazine in 1963.
Beck Residence    1962 Architect: John Beck The exterior walls of the home that Beck designed for his own family are constructed of pre-cast exposed-aggregate concrete panels. The panels were cast on site and lifted into place. The living spaces are arranged around a glass-walled internal courtyard that provides considerable natural light. A recent renovation by Beck's son Gregory has restored the original intention and given the home a sleek and dynamic makeover.
Birtch Residence    1962 Architect: Dale Birtch The formal organization, clean lines, exceptional detailing and white interiors of this house reflect a clear, modernist sensibility; however, the central courtyard, passive solar orientation and use of textured natural materials on the exterior, such as stone and redwood, demonstrate a respect for Tucson's desert context. The stone was quarried locally from the Catalina Mountains. The floor plan is oriented around mountain and city views.
Cox Residence    1963 Architect: Charles Cox Designed by the architect for his own family, this house was strongly influenced by the work of Frank Lloyd Wright and is perhaps the best example of Wrightian residential architecture in Tucson. The expressed horizontal roof plane, unique hexagonal geometry, dramatic centralized fireplace and scored concrete floors were all common features of Wright's designs. The living spaces were designed to take advantage of city views to the south and southwest, but recent construction in the surrounding neighborhood has adversely impacted these viewsheds. The house is constructed of burnt adobe and is nearly in its original condition.
Ocotillo Residence    1963 Designer: Cliff May The only known custom residence in Tucson by renowned homebuilder Cliff May, this house is an extraordinary regional interpretation of the California ranch house. The living room has a strong connection to the exterior living space, while the swimming pool and patio have a lanai-like quality and are covered in a unique ocotillo-ribbed roof. The ocotillo ribs also cover the entirety of the roof of the original house and provide an organic character not unlike the traditional thatched roofs of northern Europe. Walls are constructed of mortar-washed adobe. There have been additions to the design, but these are in keeping with the original intent. The house was published locally in the Tucson Citizen in 1963, and more recently in the 2008 monograph Cliff May and the Modern Ranch House.
Livingston Residence    1964 Designer: Robert Livingston This house represents classic American mid-century Modern design. The house was designed by Livingston, a metallurgical engineer, for his own family, and is his only architectural design work. The living spaces are organized along an east-west axis for proper solar control, with a large expanse of glass along the north side of the home that provides ample light and views. The minimalist simplicity of the spaces and the high-quality detailing are particularly surprising for a designer without formal architectural training. The house remains nearly unchanged since its inception.
Priest Residence    1965 Architect: William Kirby Lockard and Leland Lawrence This house was designed to be built by the homeowner on an extremely limited budget by utilizing a palette of inexpensive materials in a complex, yet rational, composition. The elevated structure was a response to the respiratory health concerns of the client, but also resulted in a dramatic form and incredible city views. The structural exhibitionism of the exposed cantilevered glue-laminated beams was a clear advance in Tucson architecture at the time of the house's design in 1963. Lockard's signature 4-inch concrete block detailing and axial symmetry completes the design. The house was published and used as a teaching example in Drawing as a Means to Architecture (1968), one of Lockard's textbooks on drawing, giving the house widespread exposure to architectural students across the country.
Hill Residence    1966 Designer: Thomas Hill Designed by an artist and painter for his own family, this residence utilizes planar walls of mortar-washed burnt adobe, wooden beams and floor-to-ceiling glass to enclose simple rectangular rooms with spectacular views of the city and Catalina Mountains. Long, veranda-like patios and an exterior entry court connect the public and private wings of the house. The unique entry patio was enclosed in recent years and is not in keeping with the original intent.
Kane Residence    1966 Architect: Arthur Brown The dynamic, angular great room of this house is shaped not unlike the bow of a ship, and is encased in floor-to-ceiling glass on two sides to provide panoramic views of the city lights. The dramatic, upward-sloping roof is supported by low-profile steel columns and constructed of massive glue-laminated wooden beams with exposed tongue-and-groove decking. This is one of Brown's few applications of burnt adobe. The house is nearly in its original condition.
Basile Residence    1968 Designer: Tom Gist An elaboration of Gist's own residence but on a grander scale, this two-story house was designed to take advantage of incredible views of the surrounding mountains on three sides and Tucson's city lights. The house is built on battered retaining walls of exposed aggregate concrete, with continuous sloped window walls on all sides. Wood-framed and glass-enclosed porches on three sides provide a buffer for the primary living spaces from the harsh desert climate. Design features include an enclosed two-story corner patio, terrazzo flooring and custom mahogany woodwork.
Gresham Residence    1968 Architect: James Gresham A brightly colored two-story detached screen wall creates a unique, vertically-oriented courtyard in the front of this house, making allusions to the traditional courtyard houses of the southwest. A full-height window wall on the entire north side of the house, combined with openings in the screen wall and patio walls, results in a richly layered series of spaces. A second-story platform of steel grating provides a floating patio within the courtyard. Landscaping inside the courtyard and around the screen wall has allowed the vegetation to feel like an integral part of the house.
Lockard Residence    1968 Architect: William Kirby Lockard Designed for the architect's own family, this house utilizes inexpensive materials with an attention to detail and a formal organization that gives the house a sophistication beyond the relatively modest budget. Demonstrating a respect usually reserved for more polished materials, Lockard embraced the color and texture of 4" concrete masonry as an appropriate material for the desert and articulated the wall construction with deeply struck horizontal grout joints, flush vertical joints and concrete lintels. The house and adjacent courtyards are symmetrical around the north-south axis, while the master bedroom loft overlooks the two-story living room.
Willmarth Residence    1968 Architect: David Swanson (unconfirmed) One of the first houses to utilize vertical planar forms as the primary character-defining feature, this house was also an early use of painted slump block as a modern substitute for adobe. The alternating series of angled walls makes clear allusions to the nearby mountain topography, but also grounds the building and extends it outward into the landscape. Each wall is uniquely shaped, which gives the house a distinctive complexity. The living spaces have large expanses of glass facing north and south, while the masonry walls provide shade from the east and west sun.
Tomizuka Residence    1969 Architect: James Gresham This house is an extension of the two-story detached screen wall concept at the Gresham Residence that creates a unique, vertically-oriented courtyard. The interior living spaces and many of the upstairs bedrooms have views into the courtyard through a window wall that extends the full height and length of the house. The house is trapezoidal in form and angled to the northeast to take advantage of views of the Catalina Mountains. Openings in the screen wall were designed to frame views of the adjacent landscape and mountains beyond. In addition, the screen wall reflects substantial daylight into the interior spaces.
Swaim Residence    1969 Architect: Robert Swaim Nestled carefully in a bosque of mature mesquite trees, this home is constructed of board-formed, cast-in-place concrete walls intersected by wood-faced horizontal roof planes. Although the floor plan is ordered by an 8-foot grid derived from techniques of modular concrete construction, large window walls and various ceiling heights enliven the spatial experience. The roof is constructed of wooden beams and tongue-and-groove decking. The materials of construction are left exposed on the interior and exterior and give the house a rugged texture and character appropriate for its desert context. The house was published in Sunset magazine in 1971.
Taiz Residence    1971 Architect: Kirby Lockard Designed and built on a modest budget, the brightly colored entry of this house provides a striking contrast to the unadorned two-story walls of 4" gray concrete masonry with articulated horizontal grout joints. There is a dynamic three-dimensional experience on the interior, with a loft-like angled master bedroom overlooking the rectilinear living room, dining room and patio. A clerestory window extends along the length of the second story, providing daylight into secondary spaces such as the master bath, closet and study.
Anderson Residence    1972 Architect: David Tyson Tyson was perhaps the last of a generation of architects who attempted to synthesize Modern principles of design with the ranching vernacular of the southwest. The Anderson Residence was one of his first houses in Tucson, and uses traditional materials like burnt adobe and oversized rough-sawn lumber in new and innovative ways to enclose a modern floor plan. Large window walls and clerestories provide significant daylight and views. The house is nearly in its original condition.
Johnson Residence    1974 Architect: Judith Chafee Originally designed for the architect's mother, the house rises in three steps with north-facing floor-to-ceiling windows and two clerestories running the full length of the structure. The simple, bold form is constructed of mortar-washed concrete masonry and is articulated by concrete appendages that extend outward from the walls to provide shade for the south- and east-facing windows. The rugged materials of the exterior are continued into the interior and complemented by the industrial character of the exposed ductwork. Recent modifications, primarily paint, have adversely affected the original design.
Merry Residence    1974 Architect: James Merry Inspired by national trends of the period, Merry clad this home for his own family entirely in redwood. Though in concept it appears out of place in the Arizona desert, the design feels surprisingly contextual amongst the mesquites and sycamores of a densely wooded creek bosque. The informal character of the exterior cladding contrasts with the formal arrangement of spaces on the interior along a central circulation spine. The master bedroom overlooks the two-story living space. While the materials reference designs by Charles Moore and Charles Gwathmey, the formal character and interior spatial organization reflect the early work of Richard Meier.
Ramada House    1975 Architect: Judith Chafee One of Arizona's most iconic houses, the shade structure of this house was a unique and innovative response to the desert sun. A rectangular wooden lattice resting on telephone poles provides summer shade for the spatially dynamic house below, which was constructed of mortar-washed slump block. In the winter, the low angle of the sun projects beneath the ramada to provide solar heating. Windows are located only on the north and south to minimize low-angle solar heat gain. The lattice references Native-American ocotillo shade structures, while the forms and materials of the house recall the vernacular adobe traditions of the region. The interiors step with the contours of the gently sloping site. The house was published nationally in Architectural Record magazine in 1979.
Tyson Residence    1975 Architect: David Tyson A continuation of Tyson's regional Modernism found at the Anderson Residence, this home for the architect's own family provided opportunity for experimentation. Vertical planes of burnt adobe, asymmetrical cantilevered adobe fireplaces, knotty pine cabinetry and concrete tiles all make direct reference to the ranching vernacular of the southwest. Angled wall-ends extend the reference to eroding adobe walls. Large window walls and patios along the south side of the house provide for indoor-outdoor living. An addition to the house does not adversely affect the original design, though the new interior spaces are not in keeping with the original intent.
Jacobson Residence    1977 Architect: Judith Chafee This house utilizes massive materials such as concrete and mortar-washed concrete masonry to achieve a rugged character appropriate for the desert. The unadorned surfaces and deep recesses of the exterior emphasize the contrast created by the sharp light and heavy shadows of the desert. There is a delightful spatial complexity on the interior shaped by topography, mountain views and clerestory lighting that is accentuated by the play of light on the white plaster walls and exposed concrete. A one-of-a-kind oak staircase to the reading loft does double duty as a glass-fronted bookcase, functioning more like furniture than circulation. The house is oriented to take advantage of passive solar design principles. The home was published nationally in Architectural Record magazine in 1979.

MAPP : The Modern Architecture Preservation Project