National Design Awards

The sublime nature of Rick Joy's work derives from a visceral understanding of place. He shows how efficient and environmentally sensitive architecture can emerge as a by-product from the timeless qualities that are associated with great architecture. While the beauty of the desert is the inspiration for his work, Joy's interest in architecture originally was sparked while living and working as a carpenter and musician in Maine. In approaching a new project, the sensual experience of the specific sights, sounds, and smells of the site is a primary consideration, and he prioritizes the basics of proper solar orientation and site protection. Joy engages both the physical landscape and the sky in a poetic dialogue mediated by a quietly serene, deliberately simple architecture. Joy's residential projects include the Tubac House and Tucson Mountain House in Arizona. Currently he is working on a luxury resort in Utah, as well as six new residential commissions in the Southwest.