Master of desert modernism Rick Joy celebrates 25th anniversary with retrospective tome
The American desert holds a certain mystique for architects. Where else can you get the emboldening sense of having conquered nature without any need for aesthetic compromise? As a result, the arid expanses of the West are a playground for modernists of all persuasions, from the expressive to the minimal.
Rick Joy started his practice in Tucson, Arizona, in 1993, bringing a crafted, material approach to residential design. Projects like the Desert Nomad House of 2006 were part of a renaissance in desert building, delivering self-sufficiency, simplicity and a light touch on the delicate desert environment without compromising the purity of the scheme. The house was one of the standout projects in Joy’s first monograph, ‘DesertWorks', published in 2002. Now, on the occasion of the studio’s 25th anniversary, a new book has been published, ‘Studio Joy Works’, which charts recent work, much of which is now far removed from his Tucson stamping ground.
Featured projects include the Sun Valley House in Idaho, a private retreat arranged as two wings flanking a central courtyard, with rustic stone walls chiselled and chamfered to geometric perfection. Stone is also used in the Woodstock Vermont Farm, this time paired with traditional cedar shingles to create a meticulously precise update of the state’s vernacular farm architecture. There’s plenty of design diversity on display, from the expansive family ranch in New Mexico with its sheet metal roof and shuttered concrete finishes, to the bunker-like minimalism of a vacation retreat in the Turks and Caicos Islands and the chalky minimalism of a loft in New York.
Joy’s studio has also started to engage in civic works, translating the same asceticism it applies to its private projects into public space. The book features the Princeton Transit Hall and Market, a bold piece of sculptural art that serves the famous college town without kowtowing to the town’s many architectural statements. Joy speaks of ‘cherishing the site’s spirit,’ and the works on display imply a strong sense of place, filtered through an even more rigorous approach to form and detail.
For more desert architecture see more modern buildings in arid environments
INFORMATION
'Studio Joy Works: The architecture of Rick Joy', Princeton Architectural Press, $55. For more information visit the website of Studio Rick Joy
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Jonathan Bell has written for Wallpaper* magazine since 1999, covering everything from architecture and transport design to books, tech and graphic design. He is now the magazine’s Transport and Technology Editor. Jonathan has written and edited 15 books, including Concept Car Design, 21st Century House, and The New Modern House. He is also the host of Wallpaper’s first podcast.
-
Maude’s Brâncuși-inspired sex toys go on display in a new Paris exhibition
Maude’s design-led vibrators are now on display at Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, as part of ‘Private Lives: From the Bedroom to Social Media’. Brand founder Éva Goicochea talks to Wallpaper* about partnering with the museum and opening up cultural conversations around sex
By India Birgitta Jarvis Published
-
‘I was captivated by the idea of merging two iconic brands’: Nigo on his 1990s-inspired collaboration with Moncler and Mercedes-Benz
Unveiled at Moncler’s ‘The City of Genius’ event in Shanghai this past weekend, Japanese fashion designer Nigo unpacks his three-way collaboration with Moncler and Mercedes-Benz, which includes a play on the G-Class alongside a fashion collection in his eclectic style
By Jack Moss Published
-
Cathay Pacific’s new business class Aria Suites take flight
Cathay Pacific raises the bar for business-class travel with the launch of the much-anticipated Aria Suites
By Lauren Ho Published
-
First look: step inside 144 Vanderbilt, Tankhouse and SO-IL’s new Brooklyn project
The first finished duplex inside Tankhouse and SO-IL’s 144 Vanderbilt in Fort Greene is a hyper-local design gallery curated by Brooklyn studio General Assembly
By Léa Teuscher Published
-
Tour Ray's Seagram Building HQ, an ode to art and modernism in New York City
Real estate venture Ray’s Seagram Building HQ in New York is a homage to corporate modernism
By Diana Budds Published
-
Populus by Studio Gang, the ‘first carbon positive hotel in the US’ takes root in Denver
Populus by Studio Gang opens in Denver, offering a hotel with a distinctive, organic façade and strong sustainability credentials
By Siska Lyssens Published
-
This Californian home offers the unexpected through ‘deconstructed’ desert living
Gardens & Villas, a home in La Quinta, California, brings contemporary luxury to its desert setting through a collaboration between architects Andrew McClure and Christopher McLean
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
First look inside 62 Reade Street, a clock factory turned family home
62 Reade Street, a boutique New York residential project by architects ODA, unveils its first apartment interior, styled courtesy of Hovey Design
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Paul Rudolph at The Met: ‘from Christmas lights to megastructures’
‘Materialized Space: The Architecture of Paul Rudolph’ opens at the Met in New York, exploring the modernist master's work through a feast of an exhibition
By Stephanie Murg Published
-
Jewel Box is a Californian project of small scale and big impact
Jewel Box by Red Dot Studio is the reimagining of a Californian 20th-century gem through a creative addition
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Germane Barnes exhibition explores notions of classical architecture and identity
Germane Barnes exhibition 'Columnar Disorder' opens at the Art Institute of Chicago
By Ellie Stathaki Published