Ball-Paylore House - Tucson Historic Preservation Foundation

The Ball-Paylore House, designed by architect Arthur T. Brown, FAIA in 1952 for clients, Phyllis Ball and Patricia Paylore. It was later acquired in the 1990s by Phyllis Koffler and her husband, former University of Arizona President, Henry Koffler. The exceptionally significant and unique property was periodically used over the next 30 years to host guests and scholars from around the world. Despite its exceptional significance, the house’s unique design, small size, and intact 1950s original features combined with the lack of preservation protections made it highly vulnerable to real estate speculation, tear-down, and redevelopment. After Phyllis Koffler’s death in early 2019 the Tucson Historic Preservation Foundation contacted the estate. Given limited time, THPF developed a purchase plan, secured private equity loan funding, and purchased the property before it was listed on the market.

The purchase of the Ball-Paylore House allows THPF to expand preservation efforts in Tucson and Southern Arizona, create a model for preserving complicated modern houses, offer tours and host educational programs. But to make this plan a reality, the house needs significant restoration and upgrading.

“The owners of this house […] had studied books and magazines relating to modern architecture and were determined to have a house that was different, simple in plan, low in cost, and free from things.”

– Arthur T. Brown

Arthur T. Brown’s pioneering architectural and environmentally- responsive work shaped the 20th century identity of Tucson. Between his arrival to the Old Pueblo in 1936 and death in 1993, his progressive designs shaped the residential, civic and commercial character of the city. With expressive designs with tailored proportions that responded to the climate of the Sonoran desert, his buildings garnered national attention appearing in journals, newspapers and magazines.

Born and raised in Tarkio, Missouri, Brown studied at the Ohio State University, graduating in 1927. He worked on the Century of Progress Exposition in Chicago in 1932 and 1933. Both a fine art painter and trained architect, Brown arrived in Tucson in 1936 and opened his own architectural firm by 1941. He is recognized as a “pioneer” in the development of passive solar heating and passive cooling.

From the very start the Ball-Paylore house was recognized locally as an important work. The house was extensively published in the Tucson Daily Citizen and Arizona Daily Star and in numerous national publications. In 1959, the Southern Arizona Chapter of the American Institute of Architects partnered with the Tucson Daily Citizen to present the property as a notable project and design. The house was also featured in House Beautiful magazine in October 1962, twice in Sunset Magazine and subsequently in the 1961 Sunset Patio Book and numerous books on solar design and modern architecture. In 2012, the house was listed alongside Taliesin West, Arcosanti, Ramada House, and the Burton Barr Central Library, as one of the five most important architectural works in Arizona by the Arizona Daily Star in their edition Arizona at 100: The Best of Arizona from 1912 to the Present. In 2017 the house was also featured nationally in the American real estate blog, Curbed, and in the Society of Architectural Historians’ Archipedia in 2018.

HELP US SAVE THE BALL-PAYLORE HOUSE

Built in 1952, The hexagonal-shaped house embraced the trends of American modernism, utilizing a south-facing wall of glass built with movable sun shades to create an early passive solar system.

The small 1203 sq. ft. site-specific house was conceived to meet the needs of the two young University of Arizona librarians, who commissioned the project as a refuge in the desert. Though the street facade is plain, the geometry of the house pulls you in and around as you enter the front door.

To save and protect his incredible community asset we need your help and support. Make a contribution today or contact us to set up a private tour or meeting.

Preservation of the Ball-Paylore House has been made possible in part by the generosity of the Southwestern Foundation for Education and Historical Preservation, Hotel Congress, Benjamin Supply, Jaclo, and Designtex.

BALL-PAYLORE HOUSE BIBLIOGRAPHY

Sunset Magazine, If you Live East of the Mountains … Where Summer Sometimes Sizzle, July 1958, page 56 – 59.

Arizona Daily Star, Hexagonal House, May 13, 1956. Page 1 Section D. Photos by Frank Gaynor.

Tucson Daily Citizen, Such A Simple Plan for Such a Different House, Feb. 22, 1959.

Sears, Barbara, Arizona Daily Star, Homes and Features, Shade for Tucsonans, Pg. 1 Section C May 10, 1959.

Sunset, Patio Book, Lane Magazine & Book Company, Menlo Park, California, 1961.

Bazar, Joan, Tucson Daily Citizen, Around Your Home, They Love Living In Their “Round House”, Cover, Feb. 18, 1961.

Home Beautiful Magazine, For Two Busy People: A $16,225 House for a Difficult Climate, Oct. 1962, page 200-201.

Pavillard, Dan, Tucson Daily Citizen, How Air Conditioning Won the West, May 4, 1968.

Sunset Magazine, Jun. 1974, page 96-97.

Fine Homebuilding Magazine, Taunton Press, 1982, Issues 7-12.

Cheek, Lawrence W., Tucson Daily Citizen, He Brought Modern Design to Tucson, Feb. 1, 1985.

Wayne, Kathryn M., Arthur T. Brown, FAIA, Vance Bibliographies, Aug. 1, 1987.

Nequette, Anne M. and Jeffery, R. Brooks, A Guide to Tucson Architecture, 2002, Page 322.

Arizona Daily Star, Arizona at 100: Architecture, Oct. 30, 2011, page 11.

Denzer, Anthony, The Solar House: Pioneering Sustainable Design, Random House Incorporated, 2013

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