Arizona Daily Star from Tucson, Arizona • Page 85

Home f)f Arizona BaHg Stei4 TUCSON, SUNDAY, DECEMBER 26, 1982 PAGE ONE 0 Story by Linda Platts Photos by Art Grasberger The Arizona Daily Star XX'' "'V 1 NjXWlvV" I- VX W.fw.X 1 1 1 0 1 i 2 mi t4) i in if -t 1 4 II1-' 1 IT. TT 'fvvvf I s. Tt -i It -x. -X V-; I What does the TWA Terminal at New York's Kennedy Airport have in common with the Jacobson home in Tucson? Concrete, mostly. And then, too, architect Judith Cha-fee, who admits to having a love affair with concrete.

Arthur and Joan Jacobson, fresh from Chicago, did not set out to build a concrete home. Their desires were: a house for two, work space, ample light and lots of fresh air that would flow through the rooms, bringing with it the sounds and smells of the desert. Chafee was the one who wanted to mix it up with concrete. "I feel very strongly that wood is not a very good material for outside in Tucson, while concrete weathers so well in the desert," she said. "We could develop a real vernacular for our climate, using it on a smaller scale in residential buildings." She spent several years working with concrete at the TWA building.

The experience stayed with her when she returned to her native Tucson. The passive solar home Chafee designed for the Jacobsons made good use of the building material she recommends. The floors are concrete, the walls are concrete block, and on top, concrete beams that weigh as much as 12,000 pounds tie the house together. The owners liked the concrete. They also liked the plan that Chafee came up with.

Structural engineer Jerry Cannon figured out exactly how the concrete building should fit together. Now, only one problem remained. Who would build the house? As Chafee sees it, builders are riot lining up to get their hands on innovative designs using unfamiliar materials and techniques. A familiar response to her designs, Chafee said, is: "Lady, that's not the way we do things. We open this cellophane package and screw the things together like this." But some builders are ready to try something different.

In this case it was James Hamilton. "James likes a challenge," Chafee said. And Hamilton will be the first to admit that the house was a challenge. His first concern was where he could lay his hands on some 6-ton concrete beams. He considered building the forms in place, and then pumping the concrete up two stories and letting it set.

That plan was discarded in favor of having them precast at another site and shipped to the lot. That, too, was set aside when he located Norm Peterson, an expert with concrete. Peterson's advice was to cast the beams on the site, then move them into position with a forklift or crane. At last, they had a workable solution. But Hamilton needed one more person to complete his team.

As he put it, "You don't just look for brain power and education. You look for expertise all the way down to the workman level." He needed a mason who could build walls so straight and true that they wouldn't be out of plumb even 1 inch from top to bottom. The reason was primarily cost. Each beam was to be cast with cylindrical holes that would thread over steel rebars protruding from the concrete block walls. The walls had to be exact if the rebar was to coincide with the holes in the beams.

As Hamilton explained it, he didn't want to have a crane and operator, at $100 an hour, sitting around while they tried to match the beam holes with the rebar. Joe Breen was the mason Hamilton chose. To make certain the walls went as planned, Breen single-handedly built nearly every wall in the house. With the team assembled, they set to work: foundation, a subfloor and walls. Meanwhile, Peterson built forms and poured concrete for the beams.

The beams take about 27 days to set. During that time, they had to be kept damp for maximum strength. However, moisture and Tucson in the summer are not mutually compatible. Chafee solved the problem by purchasing sprinkler hoses. These were strung along the beams and seeped water day and night.

The first beams were set at a height of about 10 feet. Hamilton rented a forklift to set them in place, but the weight of the beams caused the machine to tip forward precariously. A quick solution was to have a group of workmen stand on the back of the lift for ballast. For the next level of beams, Hamilton hired a crane and used guy wires to position them on the walls. I illu.LJDi'uuiiii-.;!!!'- South-facing clerestory windows on the Jacobson house, top, bring sunlight into rooms on the north side of the house.

The solar panels provide hot water for the house and pool. The dining room, center, has patios on both the east and west for ample ventilation. Concrete windows, crisscross the living room, above, and windows bring in both sunlight from the south and mountain views to the north. 'i lit! ntmm. Cannon solved another problem.

The beams rest directly on the concrete blocks. However, because the two have different densities and the desert has wide temperature swings, they heat and cool at different rates. The resulting stress could cause the walls to crack. Cannon advised placing thin neoprene pads at the points where the beams and walls meet. This would allow for a bit of slippage, thus relieving stress that could result in cracks.

It was a time-consuming project, but a rewarding one, Hamilton said. As the last beam went into place, owners, designers and workers alike gave a cheer and retired for a long and liquid lunch. Not only did the construction succeed, but Chafee's design has served the owners well. The site offers dramatic mountain views to the north, so Chafee situated the living room and Joan's weaving studio on the north side of the house. A wall of glass in each room faces the mountains and is topped by a massive concrete beam.

Another narrower strip of glass rises from there and is capped by another concrete beam. The mountains are framed by the glass on the lower level, and a strip of azure sky streaks high across the top of the rooms through the second level of glass. To warm these north-facing rooms in the winter, Chafee added clerestories that face south. They bring sunshine streaming into the rooms to heat the concrete floors and walls. An overhang keeps out the summer sun.

Beginning March 21, only a narrow band of sunlight reaches inside from the south, Joan said. Breezes move across the site throughout the day, as warm valley air rises in the morning and cool mountain air sinks back toward the valley floor in the evening. The house was designed to allow this fresh air to move easily through the rooms. Chafee has positioned an interior courtyard just opposite the front entry. When the door is open, a breeze whisks through the passageway.

Opening the clerestories causes the breeze to move up and out, pushing hot stagnant air in front of it, Joan said. The dining room also benefits from pleasant breezes. Sliding glass doors open onto courtyards to the east and west. When the doors are open, the air flows easily through the room. One of the home's most unusual features is the library.

A series of steps mount upward from the entrance hall to a small sitting area perched just under the ceiling. But the steps are more than just steps. They are the library. Under each step are the books, protected from dust by sliding glass doors. See LIBRARY, Page A series of steps, top, lead up to a reading aerie, while the books are tucked underneath the steps and protected by sliding glass doors.

The north face of the house, above, clearly shows the massive concrete beams that architect Judith Chafee designed..