Architecture

The Vernacular Architecture Forum is the premier organization in North America dedicated to the appreciation and study of ordinary buildings and landscapes. Established in 1979, VAF is composed of scholars from many fields, including history, architectural history, geography, anthropology, sociology, landscape history, historic preservation, and material culture studies. It sponsors an annual conference and publications including the journal Buildings & Landscapes. Membership is open to all interested individuals and institutions.

Welcome to this digital version of James F. Cooper's 1989 book, Places in the Sun.

Places in the Sun is an excellent addition to Through Our Parents’ Eyes architecture resources.

Our thanks go to Joe Cooper, James F. Cooper’s son, for granting us permission to create a digital version of his father’s book. Joe has a business in Tucson, Pueblo Home Inspection, and has been performing at The Gaslight Theater since 1983.

Essay by John Messina, AIA, Research Architect, The University of Arizona 
Southwest Studies Center and the School of Architecture

In the spring of 1687, an Italian Jesuit missionary named Father Eusebio Francisco Kino started work among a group of Indians on the far northwest frontier of New Spain. The Indians he visited called themselves "O'odham" or "the People" in their own language and were called "Pimas" by the Spaniards. The region where Kino worked, which he called the "Pimería Alta," or "Upper Pima Country," is now divided between the Mexican state of Sonora and the U.S. state of Arizona. Geographically, most of it falls within the Sonoran Desert region.

When asked to name Tucson's most recognized architect, the first name that comes to most people's minds is Josias Joesler. This website presents Joesler within the context of Tucson’s architectural and community development, his prolific 30-year career with developer/builder John Murphey and his legacy providing lessons for appropriate architecture in Tucson.