LECTURE: Keeping up with Jones: mid-century modern subdivisions of architect A. Quincy Jones
Join Clare Robinson for Keeping up with Jones: mid-century modern subdivisions of architect A. Quincy Jones The presentation covers A. Quincy Jones’ early experiments in modest modern mid-century homes in both California and Arizona between 1948 and 1954. Some built and other un-built tract homes and multifamily housing illustrate his propensity to synthesize low cost construction, modern design, and landscape. From the relatively flat Sonoran Desert to the hills of surrounding the Bay Area, unknown to most audiences are his office standards for the drawing and visualization of landscapes in his architecture projects. Using images from his archives, the presentation compares the tract homes and landscapes he designed for developers Del Webb and Joseph Eichler to point out the significance of Pueblo Gardens in Jones’ early work and the marriage between architecture and landscape at mid-century. Clare Robinson, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor in the School of Architecture at the University of Arizona, where she teaches courses in modern architectural history and theory. Robinson received a Doctorate in Architecture from the University of California Berkeley, a Master of Architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, and a Bachelor of Art from Smith College. Prior to joining the College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture, Robinson taught design, theory, and history courses at the Rhode Island School of Design, Iowa State University, University of California Berkeley, and California College of the Arts. She has also practiced architectural design in Massachusetts, Iowa, and California. Her research examines architecture and planning in the mid-twentieth century, focusing on social environments on college campuses for their educational, social, and economic import. She also studies the rhetoric and expression of identity in architecture, cities, and memorials and brings to her teaching a wide range of interests, from institutional architecture and leisure environments to regional planning. Robinson has been the recipient of numerous grants and awards, including a Graham Foundation Grant, Spiro Kostof Fellowship, Bancroft Fellowship, James and Sylvia Thayer Research Fellowship, and Joan E. Draper Fellowship.