1. Bennie M Gonzales FAIA was an American architect known for a distinctive style of Southwestern architecture which has since been widely copied.
17 Facts About Bennie Gonzales
1. 2.
Bennie Gonzales's resume included hundreds of private homes and residences throughout Arizona.
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Bennie Gonzales received 131 separate architectural design awards throughout his career, including several awards from the American Institute of Architects.
4.
Bennie Gonzales was born Barnaby Gonzales in Phoenix, Arizona, in 1924.
5.
Bennie Gonzales credited Frank Lloyd Wright and Pablo Picasso as his heroes and he first saw architect Frank Lloyd Wright at the hotel when he was just 8 years old.
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The brief sighting of Wright made an impression on the young Bennie Gonzales, who decided to pursue a career in architecture.
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Bennie Gonzales enlisted in the United States Coast Guard during World War II.
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Bennie Gonzales returned to Arizona following the end of World War II and took a position as a Phoenix firefighter.
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Bennie Gonzales enrolled at Arizona State University's fledgling architecture degree program, eventually becoming one of the program's first two graduates.
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Bennie Gonzales actively incorporated Southwestern and Arizonan-based cultural elements within his buildings, such as westward facing hogan entrances or patterns based on traditional Navajo rugs.
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Bennie Gonzales's blending of brad angles and cultural elements produced a distinctive Southwestern style of architecture, which has been widely imitated throughout the region.
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Bennie Gonzales' career was at its zenith during the 1960s and 1970s, when he was hired and commissioned to design many of Scottsdale's municipal buildings, which are still in use today.
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Bennie Gonzales designed the city of Scottsdale's main library, city hall, and the art complex, which is located across from the Civic Center Plaza.
14.
The kiva, which is a Hopi term for an "open pit gathering space," was designed by Bennie Gonzales to have no walls or doors to separate it from the city hall's offices.
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Bennie Gonzales designed hundreds of single family homes, multifamily residences and public buildings across Arizona.
16.
Bennie Gonzales focused largely on the new homes in the hills around Nogales during his later career.
17.
Bennie Gonzales died of Alzheimer's disease at his home in Nogales, Arizona, on November 20,2008, at the age of 84.