Nick Tsontakis, AIA proudly calls Frank Lloyd Wright his greatest architectural inspiration all the way down to those biographical building blocks.

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1 Nick Tsontakis Tsontakis Architecture & Interiors Nick Tsontakis, AIA proudly calls Frank Lloyd Wright his greatest architectural inspiration all the way down to those biographical building blocks. I wanted to be an architect as soon as my uncle gave me a set of blocks when I was six, he says, smiling, alluding to the Froebel blocks that inspired the young Wright. His uncle said to him: Become an architect. You just have to do one building and you ll never have to do another. He adds that, even then as a child, right: A pivot door provides welcome to the rotunda foyer of this 5,752- square-foot, four-car-garage Paradise Valley home. On about an acre, this complete renovation includes an oasis-like back yard, with a swim up bar and slide, three bedrooms plus a study and 4 ½ baths and more than a 1,000 square feet of covered patio. With 8,390 square feet under roof, the owner has the spaciousness he needs without burdening him with a mansion. says Nick. Left: Completed in 2002, this 4,724-square-foot hilltop home combines 360-degree views and contemporary styling. Cantilevering 80 feet above the street, the three-bedroom home abuts the Phoenix Mountains Preserve and looks south over the pool into city lights. he thought it was strange that he said that. After all, he asked himself, Why would you want to do just one building, when there is so much of an opportunity to do so many? Today, after three decades of architectural practice a decade now in Scottsdale he still wants to do so many well and to do so many in so many different styles. Tsontakis Architecture now offices in an 8,000-square-foot office designed by the principal. With three architects, six draftsmen, and an office manager, as well as landscape architecture and other consultants, the firm specializes in architecture and interior design of custom homes and remodeling and also does commercial, institutional and hospitality work. 143

2 Eclectic but with a contemporary edge, the firm accepts commissions worldwide, including Canada, Europe, and throughout the United States. Tsontakis is registered in Arizona and Hawaii and is certified by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) and is a member of the Order of Architects of Quebec (OAQ) and the Royal Architecture Institute of Canada (RAIC). The firm has been awarded a Deka Award for Excellence in Design in 1997 and has been published locally and nationally. The firm s work has appeared in Arizona and national publications, and Tsontakis has appeared on television and radio. His family emigrated from Crete to Montreal when he was 3 ½: The New World offered so many postwar opportunities from that particularly shattered piece of the Old. Since then, he has returned to his birthplace as well as travel elsewhere in the world. During those travels, he has taken pictures of great buildings from Wright s Oak Park homes to revolutionary structures such as Moshe Safdie s Habitat 67 for the Montreal Expo. All of these structures, from classical Greek to indigenous Canadian to Contemporary, Right: This central Phoenix home is a complete renovation a Tsontakis specialty. The 4,000-square-foot 70s-vintage home was transformed into 8,000 square feet with a second story. Here, details such as a cloud dome and archways and columns offer elegance and welcome. Facing Page Left: A couple s 5,571-square-foot home in The Groves community of Northeast Mesa, begins with a welcoming porte cochere and includes four bedrooms and five bathrooms including the casita. A hefty game room, large enough for an 8-foot pool table, also serves as a bedroom in this Contemporary Santa Barbara. Facing Page Right: Circularity is the theme of the entry of the Northeast Mesa home: wall elements, a rotunda and travertine flooring. The foyer looks through the dining room and into the expansive back yard, where many of the area s original citrus trees thrive

3 have influenced my work as an architect, he explains. As a result, I d describe my style as innovative, guided by many but led by none. In Montreal, he studied at the well-respected McGill University School of Architecture, from which he graduated with distinction in His teachers had converged there from all over the world historians, theorists, designers and brought with them a cosmopolitan attitude toward the built environment. They taught me not to think Bauhausian or Miesian or Tsontakian, for that matter. Rather they taught me to think about geographical location and siting, to think about the client s needs and budget, and consider indigenous materials. They taught me to consider each project uniquely, offering a set of challenges that can only be met with talent and experience uncorrupted by dogma and preconceptions. above: Multiple hallways converge in this striking sitting area. A play on symmetry makes the space relaxing but invites the eye to wander throughout the interesting composition. right: Bright, light, and clean: The main hallway of the Northeast Mesa home leads to the bedrooms, but its details, such as the art niche and the open ceilings, make it worth a moment to stop and enjoy on its own. Facing Page: Radiused butt-glazed windows mirror the circular movement of the rear of the Paradise Valley home, which includes a pool and spa, a waterfall and slide and a swim-up sunken ramada-covered bar. To add to the warmth, Nick placed a fire pit next to the ramada and a series of fire jets poolside

4 Consequently, when he moved his family to the Valley more than a decade ago, he brought openness to new forms, ideas, solutions. What I saw when I arrived was too much of everything I didn t like, he recalls. In residential design, he saw Santa Barbara design and Santa Barbara interior design repeated again and again. That s nice, in its kind, but not as the same answer to every project. A similar mindset with Tuscan styling is just passing out of passion now: What you see are larger and larger homes, all configured similarly, with similar effects. Meant to impress, yes, but not necessarily impressive. What impresses at Tsontakis Architecture? We think creatively in our commercial, religious and residential projects. Here, creativity means thinking to the project. For instance, six years ago, a couple challenged the firm to build them an innovative home on a choice hillside lot against the Phoenix Mountain Preserve. Carved from it was a homesite with a 70s style home sitting as though it had been dropped there without thought for the nature and opportunities of the site. Razing the original home, Tsontakis created a new one that provides panoramic views through floor-toceiling glass; a pool that integrates into the slope; a master bathroom bath tub that cantilevers over the preserve; and with materials that complement the site. The owner and architect even salvaged granite from a neighbor who was carving out a backyard and used it for the drive-up stone walls. That s the message of Tsontakis Architecture: When clients call me to design their dream home, I m attuned to that, he says. We want that home to be a function of their dreams, yes but we want that home to also be true to the realities of its location and its landscape. above: The entryway of the Phoenix Mountains offers immediate access to the city views through the great room. Here, Tsontakis has placed a dramatic stepped-down ceiling and 24-by-24-inch Turco Classico travertine on the floor with an arc of Absolute Black granite surrounding it and forming the hallway moldings. right: The bathing room s curvilinear quality is emphasized with stone walls and a stunning row of iridescent tiles. Facing Page: Replete with a fire pit and outdoor cooking area, the spacious pool terrace is ideal for entertaining on any scale

5 more about nick.. WHAT ONE ELEMENT OF STYLE OR PHILOSOPHY HAVE YOU STUCK WITH FOR YEARS THAT STILL WORKS FOR YOU TODAY? Form follows function. IF YOU COULD ELIMINATE ONE DESIGN/ARCHITECTURAL/BUILDING TECHNIQUE OR STYLE FROM THE WORLD, WHAT WOULD IT BE? Every style can be beautiful. I could not eliminate any: WHAT IS THE MOST UNIQUE/IMPRESSIVE/ BEAUTIFUL HOME YOU'VE BEEN INVOLVED WITH? That moment will never come because I am always developing new techniques. WHAT SEPARATES YOU FROM YOUR COMPETITION? Customer service is key: Our designs revolve around the client's needs and site. TSONTAKIS ARCHITECTURE & INTERIORS Nick Tsontakis, AlA North Northsight Boulevard, Suite 101 Scottsdale, AZ TOP LEFT: The Paradise Valley homeowner wanted quality but functional furniture to reaffirm the linearity of the overall design. He acquired an 1-shaped black leather sectional for the television viewing area- allowing everyone to spread out and enjoy. The adjacent conversation area is built around a black circular concrete fire pit designed by the architect. BOTTOM LEFT: Even before guests enter the Phoenix Mountain Preserve home, they see right through the house to the rear window, which looks into city lights. FACING PAGE: The approach to the Paradise Valley home includes a circular driveway. Nick repeats the fa9ade's vertical stone columns on the rear of the home. Here they neatly intersect the extended window and door lintels. 1 50