A. Quincy Jones Sun Villa:1950-2021
This project involves the remodeling and addition to a rare surviving example of the Sun Villa, a low-cost model home designed by modernist architect A. Quincy Jones, which won the AIA’s Builder House of the Year award in 1950. Although the concept was celebrated, only a few Sun Villas were ever built, primarily in the San Diego area.
Working closely with the clients and the City of Glendale’s Office of Historic Resources, we restored the neglected structure with a light hand, aiming to preserve the spirit of Jones’s original design. All non-original alterations were removed, and original finishes and features were carefully restored in accordance with archival drawings from UCLA’s Young Research Library Special Collections. Where replacement was necessary, such as the kitchen, bathrooms, sliding doors, and Douglas fir paneling, materials were chosen to reflect the original design intent and used as authentically as possible.
Additions including a studio, a bedroom, and an extra bathroom were integrated through a minimalist but impactful design strategy, expanding the home’s livable space and bringing it in line with contemporary standards of comfort and performance. Modern materials were incorporated to enhance thermal efficiency, while maintaining the house’s post-and-beam transparency and seamless indoor-outdoor flow.
In the context of Southern California’s ongoing housing affordability crisis, the project shows how thoughtful design can address both economic and environmental challenges with sensitivity.
A future phase of the project, already designed and approved by the Office of Historic Resources, proposes a two-story rear addition immersed in the palm grove and overlooking the pool. This phase is conceived to provide more living space while preserving the integrity of the original structure. Its compact footprint minimizes disruption to the site and retains most of the existing trees, which are integral to the character of this handsome property.
Seventy-five years after its original construction, the remodeled Sun Villa received a Special Mention in the Residential Remodel and Addition category of the 2025 Architizer A+Awards.
