A. Quincy Jones [Hardcover]

Cory Buckner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 5, 2002

A. Quincy Jones was a talented architect with a unique style but for whom the interests of community planning were more important than asserting his own individual aesthetic. Jones called the typical tract houses of the day "bumps along the road waiting for trees to grow", and his work on the pioneering Los Angeles development known as the Mutual Housing Association (1946-1950), the later Eichler Homes, and other residential developments helped to set the postwar standard for affordable, livable, aesthetically pleasing homes that looked and felt modern. Jones was one of the first American architects to experiment with unconventional structual systems: slip-form concrete, caste-in-place concrete beams and modular-based plywood. Beginning in the late 1940s, Jones established an architectual vocabulary that was to last him into the next decade: post-and-beam wood or steel structure, exposed concrete block, plate glass and redwood siding. Most of his buildings are still extant and, more impressively, still look fresh and appropriate more than 30 years later. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Jones moved to Los Angeles as a young boy in 1917. He studied architecture at the University of Washington in Seattle and returned to Los Angeles, working for two different architectural firms. After serving in the military during World War II, Jones returned again to Los Angeles in 1945 and opened his own practice that year, joining in partnership with Frederick E. Emmons from 1951 to 1969. As an influential educator, Jones served as dean of the architectual school at the University of Southern California in the late 1970s. He was also co-author with his partner Emmons of the 1957 book "Builder's Homes for Better Living", a highly influential professional guide. One of Jones's best-known projects is the Mutual Housing Association, a cooperative organization of returned servicemen who hired Jones to develop 800 homes in the Santa Monica Mountains in 1946. The designs, published in "Arts and Architecture" magazine, had a formative effect on Southern California housing and the development won the American Institute of Architects (AIAS) Award of merit in 1952. A. Quincy Jones and Frederick Emmons also participated in the Case Study Porgram as the only architects to submit a tract house proposal, Case Study House #24. While primarily known for his residential work, Jones also designed and built churches, commercial buildings, apartment buildings and university projects. His Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California is a wonder of concrete construction and features an energy-saving "air flow" system of heating and cooling first developed by Jones. This text analyzes the 65 major projects designed by A. Quincy Jones alone and in partnership with Frederick Emmons. The book is visually driven, showcasing a valuable collection of pristine vintage photographs of Jones's work taken by renowned architecture photographers including Julius Shulman, Hedrick Blessing, Ernest Braun and Marvin Rand. The book also includes approximately 30 rarely seen renderings, plans and intricate working drawings from the A. Quincy Jones archive at UCLA. Works are organized into sections by building type: each work is represented by a brief project description and several pages of photos and drawings.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Cory Buckner is a practicing architect and writer who, after losing her home in a Malibu fire, purchased a house designed by A. Quincy Jones and began to research his work. She obtained her architecture degree from the California Institute of the Arts and her master's degree in architectural history and theory at the University of California at Los Angeles. She is co-author of the book Mid-Century Modern Gardens in Southern California (forthcoming, James Trulove Publisher). Author's Residence: Los Angeles

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Phaidon Press (June 5, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0714840742
• ISBN-13: 978-0714840741
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 8.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #462,955 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Timeless Modernism, June 4, 2002

By 

Edward J. Shannon, AIA (Elgin, IL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A. Quincy Jones (Hardcover)

Let me begin by saying that this is a beautiful book. The original black and white photos are as crisp as the planar fascias and walls of Jones' many projects represented here. The graphics, (mostly plans and perspective renderings) are reproduced in a sepia tone that wonderfully invokes the spirit of the post WW2 period. And, in this age of neo-modernism, it is great to be exposed to a talented, true modernist whose architecture was not influenced by the latest fads and trends, but by the architect's deep convictions of modern architecture improving the quality of life.

The book contains a short essay and a catalogue of about 65 of Jones (and his partner Frederick Emmons) projects. The projects are shown chronologically in seven categories: Single-Family Houses; Residential Housing Developments; Churches; Commercial Spaces; Civic Spaces; University Buildings; and Planning Work.

The essay entitled Building for Better Living: The Architecture of A. Quincy Jones, is however, disappointingly brief. Although it begins in a biographical format, it moves quickly into Jones' theories on multi and single-family residential development. It then discusses Jones' design methods and uses of materials, and concludes abruptly with Earth Structures & Energy Systems and Planning & Landscape Designs. Very little is mentioned in regard to his practice and the fact that Jones and Emmons were awarded national AIA Firm of the Year in 1969. The essay makes no mention when and how Jones died.

Jones' plans are a work of art, not just graphically, but in regards to the rigor in which he was able to make space and structure flow and integrate his buildings into the California landscape. It is unfortunate that only about a third of the projects in this book contain plans. Still, there are some stunning projects represented here. I highly recommend this book to the serious student of mid-century modernism.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A.Quincy Jones, October 23, 2002

By 

Michael Webb (London, England > Los Angeles, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A. Quincy Jones (Hardcover)

It is easy to dismiss the work of Quincy Jones (1913-79) as modernism lite. His long association with Joseph Eichler and other suburban builders prevented him from being taken as seriously as more rigorous and rebellious peers. Modern architecture is supposed to be challenging; Jones made it look easy. However, a drive around Crestwood Hills in West LA, and a close examination of the model houses he and others designed for that enlightened housing association, engender a new respect. Pragmatic, inventive, and humane, Jones bridged the chasm between high art and popular taste, emphasizing practicality over ideology. Buckner has hands-on experience, having restored four Jones houses, and one wishes she had expanded her brief introduction to the architect's career to communicate her personal enthusiasm for his unshowy brilliance. In every other way, this is an admirable survey of 65 key projects, illustrated with vintage black and white photos, drawings and plans.

2.0 out of 5 stars Atomic Ranch House story bombed, October 25, 2011

By 

William Reifsteck "UND78" (Newport Beach, CA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A. Quincy Jones (Hardcover)

Living in an Atomic Ranch designed by A. Quincy Jones I wanted to learn more about this man and his design style. While this book has a lot of wonderful pictures of many of his houses it did not tell much about the man and his design style. I will leave the book for the next owner of the house.