Southwestern Building styles
Tucson is known for its Southwestern architectural styles. As with all American cities, you can find examples of most any style, from Bauhaus to farmhouse, even modern lofts are available. But for those who want a home that reflects The Southwest and its history, Tucson is a Mecca.
Many people who move here have a clear idea in their mind of what southwestern style means, but they lack the vocabulary. Perhaps what you want is a Santa Fe style home, but it could be a Pueblo home, a Territorial Home, a Southwest Territorial Home, or a Spanish Colonial Home. Read below to understand what these styles are and then you may know you exactly what you want. Adobe homes in Tucson, whether 250 years old or built this year, can give you the charm and ambiance of the traditional Southwest without losing the convenience and sophistication you need.
Here is a simplified way to differentiate and define the various building styles which belong to the region.
1) Pueblo: This is most often what people mean when they are looking for Southwestern ambiance. Homes in this style have been built in the Tucson area from the 18th century . . . though the oldest you probably will find were built in the 1870’s. These homes are typified by:
a. Rounded corners and stepped walls
b. Flat roofs with canales to drain water through the parapets
c. Often elaborate entry ways with portales and/or loggias
d. Stucco over adobe, masonry, brick or (more recently) framed walls
e. Doors and windows are usually deeply inset and usually have wood lintels
f. Sometimes vigas (roof support beams), real or decorative protrude from the walls and are evident inside supporting the ceiling and roof
g. Low courtyard walls or interior patios
2) Territorial: Also a strong tradition here, homes and businesses in this style have been a part of the Tucson mix since the mid 1800s. These homes are typified by:
a. Square corners and fewer stepped walls than adobe homes
b. Flat roofs with canales to drain water through the parapets
c. Often elaborate entry ways with portales and/or loggias
d. Stucco over adobe, masonry/brick or more recently framed walls
e. Doors and windows are flush with the stucco surface but with decorative wood trim
f. Decorative brick or adobe cornice at the parapets and chimney
g. Wood covered porches with decorative columns and trim
3) Spanish Colonial: Starting with the Mission at San Xavier, begun in 1699, an enduring architectural tradition. These homes are typified by:
a. Square corners combined with a few arches in doorways and occasionally windows
b. Clay barrel tiled roofs set at a 4 in 12 pitch or gentler pitch over porches
c. Courtyards and covered patios
d. Stucco over adobe, masonry/brick or more recently framed walls
e. Doors and windows are usually inset and usually wood decorations
f. Simple or no decoration at chimney
g. Occasionally wood beams and corbels exposed at roofline
4) Southwestern Territorial: found early on in the larger ranch homes from themed 1800’s and in town from the late 1800’s These homes are typified by:
a. Square corners and angles
b. Pitched, Sheet metal roofs, usually painted, extending beyond the walls gentler slope over porches
c. Yards more than patios, wrap around covered porches
d. Stucco over adobe, masonry/brick or more recently framed walls
e. Doors and windows are flush with the wall
f. Simple or no decoration at chimney
Southwestern Glossary:
Adobe - A block originally made of mud and straw, usually made into bricks. Now, adobe is usually made of sand and clay often stabilized with asphalt.
Banco - Built-in benches, often at a porch or near a firepit or kiva.
Canales - Water spouts, scuppers or rain troughs that protrude through a parapet wall, normally to drain water that collects on a flat roof.
Corbel - A supporting timber under a beam or arch. The end of the corbel may be cut square for a stepped appearance or elaborately carved.
Entrada – The entryway.
Fogon – A fireplace set in a corner.
Hornos - Round earthen outdoor wood burning ovens, used for cooking.
Kiva - A style of fireplace, normally with rounded front, placed in the corner of a room or wall in a patio.
Latillas - Small peeled poles used to form a ceiling. These can be made out of pealed Aspen or Pine, Saguaro ribs or ocotillo branches. Latillas are often placed between vigas for form a ceiling. They used to be covered in cement made of lime and mud.
Lintel - Crossbeam above a window. In southwestern homes, they are often wooden beams set into the adobe or stucco wall.
Nichos – Inset display shelves or "niches" in walls.
Parapets – Exterior walls above the roof line.
Portales – Decorative porches, and/or decorative entryways for the main entrance.
Ramada - Freestanding canopy made of upright posts (usually mesquite) and a loose roof of saguaro ribs, native cane (Carrizo), ocotillo branches or other sticks to give shade.
Rammed earth - A type of construction where walls are built compacting soil in forms at the building location.
Saltillo tile - Red and yellow clay floor tile, 6 or 12 inches square (sometimes octagonal).
Stucco - A plaster or mud finish originally made with lime, mud and cactus juice for a binder, now usually a cement product.
Vigas - Traditional peeled log beam supporting the ceiling and roof. They are visible inside and often protrude through the outside walls.
Zaguan – An entry, hall or entry courtyard, sometimes running through the house to the interior courtyard.