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David Wright House

David and Gladys Wright House
Excellent
  • Prairie School/Wrightian
  • Identity of Building/Site
  • History of Building/Site

David Wright House

Credit

All Images by Scott Jarson, Azarchitecture.com

Site overview

This unusual suburban house was placed near the center of its original 10-acre lot, and elevated on piers to provide unobstructed views northeast over the detached single-story guesthouse and citrus orchards beyond to Camelback Mountain. The style of both the home and a later-built guesthouse is Wrightian/ Organic. The plan of the David Wright House is circular, with a curved ramp on the northeast leading up to the house at the southwest, leaving a circular central courtyard. Concrete block piers support the main dwelling level, a cantilevered concrete slab supporting exterior walls of exposed gray concrete block (both plain and ornamentally molded at the perimeter). Windows and doors are mahogany, clear sealed and single-glazed. The fl oor plan is curvilinear (one room deep) with the living room at the center, the kitchen on the northwest and bedrooms and bathrooms aligned on the southeast. The master bedroom, cantilevered at the southeast end, has 270º panoramic views of the surrounding landscape. The living room has floor-to-ceiling windows on both sides. Ceilings are lapped mahogany boards (clear sealed). Roofing is diagonally seamed sheet metal painted turquoise, to resemble oxidized copper. Conical fireplaces are focal points in the living room and master bedroom. A second external ramp wraps the kitchen, leading to a roof terrace above the living room.

How to Visit

Temporarily closed to the public

Location

4505 North Rubicon Avenue
Phoenix, AZ, 85018

Country

US
More visitation information

Case Study House No. 21

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Credit: All Images by Scott Jarson, Azarchitecture.com
Commission

1950

Completion

1952

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