Arizona Architecture from the Archives

This elevated box seems to float above its desert foothills site. Beadle completed the design of this Paradise Valley residence in 1977.

Blaine Drake began his Phoenix-based architectural practice in 1945, just as World War II ended and a residential housing surge in the area began. Drake brought elements of Organic architecture, developed during his time as an apprentice to Frank Lloyd Wright, to his profession. Drake also emphasized masonry construction for its energy efficiency, low cost and aesthetic appeal. Shown here is a typical example of Drake’s 1940s designs, the Hobson Residence in Phoenix, designed in 1949.

Drake wrote that an architect should have a “profound perception and understanding of both the materials of building and the people for whom he builds.” The design for the Randall-Moeckel Residence in Scottsdale demonstrates an understanding of the clients’ need to accommodate horses on the property.

Quotation from Blaine Drake: 40 years of architecture in Arizona.

Fred Linn Osmon’s projects “have focused on building ecologically-sound and beautiful environments in the Sonoran Desert.” Osmon designed the Knapp Residence in Carefree in 1979.

Quotation from Toward an Architecture Without Permanent Form?: The Projects and Ideas of Fred Linn Osmon, Architect. 

All four of the houses that Osmon designed for himself and his family were built on natural desert sites of 2-3 acres. This is a sketch of Osmon House I from 1976. The design called for a maximum retention of natural desert and a minimum use of energy to maintain it.

Harold Housley
Archivist, Design and the Arts Special Collections

Harold.Housley@asu.edu 
(480) 965-6370