Education

Philip Johnson "The Philosopher Architect" Profiled

Time, January 8, 1979 "Doing Their Own Thing: Goodbye to Glass Boxes and All That."

"Anybody who makes a progostication's a damned fool. I've done it and I know it's always, always wrong...The greatest challenge in the next century in architecture? Just the continual anguish and reform and replanning and nobody, nobody knows what strange changes are going to take... And now the kids! We have a wonderful generation coming, twisting it all out of what an older person would think was shape. But they're doing it with such panache, with such verve, with such delightful humor, that a whole new panoply of architecture's opened up."

The Difference between Shelter and Sanctuary

A. Quincy Jones has a thriving practice that changes the face of suburban Southern California and reflects the values of an emerging American middle class homebuyer. He also teaches and becomes Dean of the University of Southern California's School of Architecture (1951-1967). His philosophy of valuing "meaningful living" over "mundane existence" influences hundreds of new architects. He advises his students to design not only a living space but also "a sense of community."   

During the last decade of his life, Jones is interviewed extensively about his belief that residential design is about people. He encourages young architects to view their practices as "Designing for the Homes of Tomorrow." He advises them to "have the strength" to turn down developers who propose projects they do not believe in because one can "make more money by providing the best possible living experience for the people who buy his houses" instead of creating sterile, one-size-fits-all subdivisions. 

Many of his ideas echo those Paul R. Williams proposes decades earlier in his books—The Small House of Tomorrow (1945) and New Homes For Today (1946). Both Williams and Jones are considered "champions" and advocates for small, affordable California housing.

Architect A. Quincy Jones dies

After receiving his Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Washington, A. Quincy Jones works for Paul R. Williams from 1939 to 1940. In 1945 Jones opens his own architectural practice but continues to collaborate with Williams for decades on more than 20 projects including the Palm Springs Tennis Club (1947), Town and Country restaurant (1948), proposed Coconut Island Club International (1946) and Pueblo Gardens, a large Del Webb housing project built in Arizona during the 1940s and 1950s. Both men believe in the importance of small home ownership for American society.

Williams and Jones bring unique skills and strengths to their relationship. John Crosse, a Southern California architectural historian, notes that reading personal correspondence between the two men indicates they "obviously had a mutual respect for each other." At the start of his practice Jones asks his mentor for advise on a variety of residential projects. Crosse states, "The association between Williams and Jones worked pretty much like this: Williams got the clients and Jones did the design and construction oversight, a win-win for the duo." (SOCALARCHHISTORY 12/13/2009)