DAB310 - Michael Croft Project 1: Tubac House

Rick Joy

(Image: Rick Joy. Rick Joy Architects. http://design.walkerart.org/detail.wac?id=1317&title=Past%20Programs 2010. [accessed 23 March, 2010])

Rick Joy, born in 1958, specialises in private houses typically located in the desert region of America. From an early time in his career, he has studied music performance in which he became an acute jazz and blues drummer, which no doubt has influenced his style of architectural practice in a sensory dimension. Joy, in his works over time, expresses his Modernist style of architecture through the sensitive care and response of materials and environments in a project.

‘As a contemporary modernist he expresses the nature of materials, but he also puts the mass back into the volumes that the original Modernist had removed some eight decades before. The architect is a pragmatist and not a theorist-- or rather, he bases his theory on pragmatics, developing his esthetics and approach to construction through a sensitive use of materials.' (Ecosa. 2001)

The deeper thinking behind his architecture, in which he focuses on response to the environment and the sensory experience of the house, is what I believe drew me to his work (Tubac House). ‘The simplest things can over evoke the deepest feelings. The silence in great music is often more profound than sounds’ – Rick Joy. (Architects studio. 2008)

Ecosa. 2010. Ecosa Guest Speaker Biographies. http://www.ecosainstitute.org/faculty-and-speakers/ecosa-guest-speaker-biographies.html [accessed 23 March, 2010].

Encyclopedia. 2007. Rick Joy: house, Arizona, USA.(Dwelling)(Brief article). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-158911388.html [accessed 23 March, 2010].

Architects studio. 2008. Avra Verde, Rick Joy Architects. http://architect-studio.blogspot.com/2008/06/avra-verde-rick-joy-architects.html [accessed 23 March, 2010].

Archin form. 2010. Rick Joy. http://eng.archinform.net/arch/21271.htm [accessed 23 March, 2010].

Tubac House

Environmental Filter:

(Image: Tubac House. http://coolboom.net/architecture/tubac-house-by-rick-joy/ 2010. [accessed 24 March, 2010])

• Joy experiments with contemporary materials which resonate with the harsh and bold colours of the desert. Untreated steel, which rusts over time, is used for the exterior of the house. This finish compliments the desert colours. For the interior, Joy uses minimalistic, contemporary materials to contrast with the exterior.
• Joy has responded to the desert climate in his house design. He uses large portal structures and glass windows to manipulate how the user views the desert landscape.
• The house has a physical connection to the environment. The house is embedded within the site. As you approach the house, it appears as though it has slipped lizard-like into the desert environment. (Coolboom. 2007)

Container of Human Activities

(Image: Tubac House. http://coolboom.net/architecture/tubac-house-by-rick-joy/ 2010. [accessed 24 March, 2010])

• The spatial arrangement of Tubac house can be divided into four, interrelated zones:
» Living and eating: This zone contains the kitchen and living area and all other related amenities. Joy clusters the kitchen, pantry, toilet and dining area to accommodate for a larger, more spacious living room.
» Sleeping, Ablutions and Office: This zone consists of the bedroom, bathroom, laundry and office spaces. It is compressed into a small area near the rear of the building so that ideal vistas are reserved for the living and reflecting spaces.
» Garage and workshop: These rooms have been positioned towards the back of the house. It consumes the least interesting point of the house.
» Games, porch and court: This zone consumes a large portion of ideal views over the landscape. They are considered as reflective spaces.
• The structure and design of the building is very much straight line geometry driven. There are no curves in the design.
• There are numerous zones of the house which dictate whether the prime vista views are taken advantage of. A notable design feature is that Joy has allotted only one private space with prime views of the environment. The master bedroom, located on the east side of house has views over the mountains. (Refer to private and public spaces diagram)

Delightful Experience:

(Image: Tubac House. http://coolboom.net/architecture/tubac-house-by-rick-joy/ 2010. [accessed 24 March, 2010])

• Joy establishes juxtaposition between the silence and isolation of the desert, and the sensory experience of the house.
‘From here, an oasis unfolds: cool dark shaded areas, the sound of water trickling, humming birds, the smell of sage and flowers, reflections. Planting arrangements and detailing assert a refined man-made character. The courtyard provides relief from the overwhelmingly expansive setting while two buildings frame a cropped view of Tumacacaori Park – the client’s favourite. A negative edge pool located at the west end of the courtyard extends the experience to this view.’ (House design idea. 2009)
• The house is a shelter from the harsh environment of the desert. The geometry of the house gives a feeling of containment to the user from the vastness of the surroundings.
• Interiors are visually minimal in the extreme, but are sensually vibrant. (UME Magazine. 2004)

(Image: Tubac House. http://coolboom.net/architecture/tubac-house-by-rick-joy/ 2010. [accessed 24 March, 2010])

House Design Idea. 2009. Contemporary Residental House in Arizona-Tubac House by Studio Rick Joy Architect. http://www.housedesignidea.com/contemporary-residental-house-in-arizona-tubac-house-by-studio-rick-joy-architect/ [accessed 5 March, 2010].

Urbanzeitgeist. 2005. Tubac house by Rick Joy. http://www.urbanzeitgeist.com/design/tubac_house_rick_joy.html [accessed 4 March, 2010].

FAQS. 2008. Rick Joy's Tubac house: Desert treasure.
http://www.faqs.org/abstracts/Publishing-industry/Rick-Joys-Tubac-house-Desert-treasure-Mirco-Ilic.html [accessed 4 March, 2010].

Coolboom. 2007. Tubac house by Rick Joy.
http://coolboom.net/architecture/tubac-house-by-rick-joy/ [accessed 4 March, 2010].

UME Magazine. 2004. Rick Joy: Tubac House, Tubac, Arizona. http://www.umemagazine.com/issues.aspx [accessed 5 March, 2010].

Below is a walkthrough Tubac House.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TYzaN8RMvQ

Rick Joy's Tubac House. 2008. Streaming video recording. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TYzaN8RMvQ (accessed March 13, 2010).