Blog Post 11-2-07

Quality is an enduring principle in many things but especially in real estate. There seems to be a trend developing (again) that the properties on the market that exemplify nice "character" are still attractive to potential home & land purchasers. This "character" is found not only in the macro sense i.e. the REGION where we live or are giving consideration to live in, but also in the micro sense of NEIGHBORHOOD, COMMUNITY, UNIVERSITY, MUSEUMS, EVENTS etc.

I have often advised clients to consider the "quality" or "character" of the real estate they are considering to purchase. The macro concept of REGION is already a given when clients contact me on buying land or homes in the Tubac Real Estate market. They have already been investigating this area and Tubac& Santa Cruz County are both compelling places to consider living... people have figured this out.

The more micro characteristics of a property are more subtle and can be viewed in different ways by people with differing interests. Some want close proximity to town and the events that they enjoy attending, others want to enjoy these events but are happier with the privacy afforded by living in the country far from the urban centers.

The most detailed consideration of a purchase decision is the distinctive nature of the property itself (well, and the cost of course). Here in Tubac as in some areas around Tucson, VIEWS are a primary consideration and working with a property that has exceptional views brings much of our satisfaction going forward with our purchase of real property.

Other enduring characteristics of importance in purchasing real estate in Tubac or Tucson are how a property can be developed, enhanced i.e. remodeled, or enjoyed as is without any major alterations. Our Southern Arizona Region is blessed with a great climate, one of the 5 "C"s that has created our regional economy. Can you name any of the five C's?  Southern Arizona has a CLIMATE that has been the foundation for a thriving real estate economy because it enables residents to have an active outdoor lifestyle much of the year. But even more than this, it is the desert, it's spare but impressive vegetation and especially the LIGHT from the clear sky that enlivens our surroundings and bathes the interiors of our homes.

Quality does endure and it even endures "down" real estate markets. If you purchase something of quality, you will be richly rewarded for this choice no matter at what level you purchase. Some of us will buy a home based on the home's character itself. If this is the primary factor that influences your choice it can be at many levels of price, either at the top end of the real estate market such as this Ventana Area home (map) that just sold for $8 million (AZ Starnet) Ventana-area home sells for $8 million or at other price points.

Quality endures at all levels of participation and it is discussed  in Conde Nast's PORTFOLIO.com in this article Starchitecture for a Song. View the slide show to see the homes that others have found around the country.

There are some very nice Tubac homes and only some of them will ever be for sale. It just might be why this downturn in the real estate market is not as structurally difficult as many people feel compelled to believe it is. Many times it is the land itself that can make for you the decision to bring inspiration and you or your architect's vision to bear. What I am getting at is that buying a quality parcel of land for your custom home is essential to building a quality project. The home itself is made better when placed upon and into the landscape that surrounds it. Here is an example of a straight forward parcel of property that when designed for and built out by a creative architect, really creates a quality property. This home exemplifies the concept & is a Rick Joy design for a stunning home in Tubac.

There are some very special Tubac Properties for sale that have the potential for an owner to create a true masterpiece. Some are Tubac Homes and others are Tubac land parcels. Your discovery of Tubac - the REGION can start the process of finding a property that simply cannot be reproduced anywhere else. A quality property is the first step.

Buy quality.... you will not be disappointed.

More people means more ideas. More ideas mean more opinions. More media options mean more access to these ideas and opinions.

When it comes to our homes and communities more people means more homes are contemplated, dreamed about and built. Where are we getting our inspiration from when it comes to considering the kinds of homes we would like to live in? Well, local magazine articles like those found in Tucson Lifestyle Home & Garden are a good source of inspiration and tend to bias our exposure to current trends and styles. Of course we have all purchased books on homes and kitchen & bath designs if we have been thinking about remodeling our home like those from Taunton Press. But there are now soooo many options as to where to derive inspiration from on the internet it is truely amazing.

I have been thinking about regional architecture and how now, it is becoming so influenced by important styles, designs and building techniques from all over, that the term regional is getting complicated. Arrol Gellner who writes for Inman News writes in a recent article Bugged by today's architecture  "There's only one cardinal sin in architecture, and that is not thinking."

There are lots of people with thoughts on home building but here is a blog post from the Inman News blog that is quite eye opening... and it has to do with building homes from recycled material.... Sounds interesting but...

With in this post by Todd Carpenter Guest post: Shipping containers as building material is a link to this CBS video which is surely going to make the point that Regional Architecture is changing along with Globalised markets. So, is this considered "thinking"? as Arrol Gellner discusses...?

Lawrence W. Cheek has an article linked to in the post above titled On Architecture: Transforming cargo containers into a weekend studio that ends with this "There isn't a lot of what we normally think of as architecture in this prototype. It isn't picturesque, refined or sensual, and its cultural associations are all about sweaty cargo ports and Chinese industrialization -- not exactly the stuff of home-sweet-home dreams. But it's a stunning reminder of what architecture ought to be about: solving some of civilization's thorniest problems by radically reconsidering the built environment."

Addis Containers in New Zealand has a portfolio of Container designed homes at the following url http://www.containerarchitecture.co.nz/index.html 

Arizona Regional Architecture is certainly changing to a more global perspective as our needs, styles and influences expand.

Looking toward another great month of mixed indoor and outdoor living in the Upper Sonoran desert has me reading about outdoor spaces, landscape design and outdoor rooms. This concept of integration of indoor and outdoor space has been in my thoughts lately as I start working toward designing such space at my home on the Salero Ranch.

Tucson Home integration of backyard oasis with porches off home and casita where French doors bring "outside in"

Actually since we built our home and moved in 2000 we have "dragged our feet" in getting the "landscaping done", and now I am so glad we waited. Once you have "lived with a place" for a while, you come to see it in a different light, quite literally. I have watched the seasons change, felt the warmth of the sunny south exposure and watched as the ocotillos flourish on that side of the home and noted the cool to cold north side of the house where the soil stays damp and shade predominates. This living with your home for a time before finishing (in the traditional sense) it doesn't fit the typical model for construction scheduling and timing move-in for new homes because there are both design/build packages and packaged expectations on the part of the owners. If your plans will allow for it, you will save 2 things by waiting to finish your home until later. First you will save money because you will have time to get designs and bids done in a more leisurely manner. Second, you will save time in what it might take to re-do or customise the already executed landscape plan that once lived with, is not actually what you would have wanted.

So as I have been reading I came across Steve Martino & Associates whose Landscape Architecture firm received the ASLA Professional Design award in 2006 for RESIDENTIAL DESIGN AWARD OF EXCELLENCE. This remodel of a home in Paradise Valley Arizona was clearly what the type of example I had been looking for to provide me with some inspiration for my own project.

Here is a link to an article that will be in my May Newsletter on Outdoor Rooms. It gives some perspective on how popular the trend is becoming as we spend more time around home as a nation. What is not mentioned that I feel is an additional reward, is that the assessor typically looks at "heated & cooled" areas to assess a homes square footage (covered porches are assessed but not at the same rate as heated living space). This is a way to not only enjoy the outdoors, but possibly save on real estate taxes as well since you would be adding "outdoor living space" vs "indoor living space".

Here is one vendor with packaged models for outdoor rooms. Fire Stone Outdoor Great Rooms.

Breezes vs Windy. It is an age old concern of many of us. I called a neighbor at the Salero Ranch who had been down from Phoenix for our annual Property Owners Association meeting on Saturday last and she told me she had left early for her return drive because of the windy conditions. If I had ever thought of that as being a factor for a drive I was going to make, I must have forgotten it. But she was right, Sunday was very windy at the ranch and she had a good point, why fight it?

When it comes to home design, there are ways to work with the indoor & outdoor space and professional designers & architects know how to gain the advantage when designing a project. It's not only wind but here in Arizona, it's the sun and solar orientation and sun angle through out the day that complicates a design. True to Arizona, as much time is spent in the outdoor spaces as indoors and this calls for some creative thinking.

An article in Sunset Magazine is linked here The meeting of indoors and out and it goes into the thoughts of a well respected Tucson Architect Paul Weiner. He has been working the outdoors in for many years with architecture around Tucson and runs his Design Build Collaborative company specializing in sustainable materials and architecture. His designs look to me both aged and ageless. There are few homes that blend in so well as Paul's designs do here in Southern Arizona.

I guess we can't "control" the weather, at least not to our liking, but we can design for its inevitability in the desert environment. Much of what is built today is not well thought out but it certainly becomes a Living Home if it is and is thought out creatively.

Let me know what your thoughts and experiences are with "natural architecture".

LivingHomes are modern well thought out alternatives to custom home building & design. While deemed as a "pre-fab" type of construction, these homes are not what you would expect.. they are geared toward sustainable building practices. LivingHomes are really top drawer types of projects with prices from $500K to over $1m, but for that you get a modern designed home by either Ray Kappe or David Hertz who are well-known architects from California. Personally I think the 2 models done by Kappe are more appealing for rural living as they have a chance of finding a site to "blend in" with... still it might be tough to get it into the Desert SW landscape and not look too "out there"

When we are facing a home building project that is going to be both expensive and of what seems like unending duration this modern "pre-fab" alternative looks appealing and IS appealing. Costs are currently higher than Steve Glen founder and CEO of LivingHomes would like but as orders and production ramp up, he says the homes should come down in price. Here is a link to an post in Land+Living with comments that are interesting. I'm still thinking that in very open country as we have in Southern Arizona, the height will make it hard to blend the design into the landscape.