Francis Mah: Rethinking Domesticity
by Marty Gorman, AIA

Color Photographs by Fred Asbury

Driving east on Union Avenue, Memphians can view an impressive collection of Francis Mah (1928-1998) designs-- First Tennessee Bank, heralding the rebirth of post World War II construction downtown; Memphis Publishing Company, showcasing a beehive of activity through its curving glass facade; Baptist Hospital School of Nursing, housing dorm rooms and classrooms behind protective walls; Southern College of Optometry, dominating the skyline as a strong sculptural statement. Farther east, the University of Memphis' Brister Library, marking the campus from afar; the Harrah's Corporation (formerly Holiday Inn Corporate Headquarters), nestling into its woodland setting; and the Hyatt Regency Hotel (now Park Vista Hotel) relieving interstate boredom.

In addition to these and other icons scattered throughout the city, and unknown to most Memphians, are the beautiful residences that Mah tailored to their unique sites. He was certainly not timid. Mah viewed past historical styles as contemporary at the time. So, too, he felt strongly that we should be creating solutions of our time, not copies of the past. Each house he designed was a portrait of the owner and the architect.

Natives of the city are typically surprised to learn that the elegant, crisp, brick and glass "box" facing Overton Park on Poplar was one of Mah's first creations after arriving here from Yale in the late 1950s. Raising the bachelor client's living quarters to the second floor to take advantage of the beautiful view was a daring step in this architecturally conservative clime. This fresh approach to design was certainly not lost on Daisy Fischer, a widow who had purchased a lot on the subdivided Norfleet estate in east Memphis. She soon hired Mah to design her home. A simple stucco "shell," punctuated with a few carefully placed windows, the house turns away from nearby neighbors on three sides and orients all public rooms toward a central outdoor courtyard-- an idea borrowed from the Greek agoras. Mah wanted the green patina of the sloped copper roof to slowly wash over the cream-colored walls below, beautifully blending the house into its suburban wooded setting over time.



Mah often acknowledged the influence of noted architect Louis Kahn, his professor at Yale. In the late 1960s Mah and his partner, Walk Jones III, designed a house on Tara Lane for the Jones family. Strong geometry in both plan and elevation takes over here. Mr. Kahn's concept of differentiating "serve" and "served" spaces becomes clear with kitchen and bathrooms (functional service-oriented rooms) located in distinct zones. Windows define and enclose the more passive "served" spaces such as bedrooms and living areas. Soft-colored red brick walls are the only nod to the traditional neighborhood. Again, a narrow lot led to yet another creative solution-- the introduction of second floor roof terraces open to the sky and surrounded by masonry walls for privacy. Architectural Record magazine selected it as one of its ten houses of the year in 1971.

Walk Jones House



Another dramatic interpretation of Kahn's principles is seen in the Sapinsley residence on Yates Road. The plan is a duality of massive wood-clad cores housing kitchen, stairs and bathrooms (served spaces) contrasting with the transparency of sloping glass roofs over the living spaces (served) with views to the wooded grounds and pool beyond. The playful juxtaposition of window sizes and patterns further enlivens the composition.
 
Sapinsley House




For his own family's home (pictured to the left and below), Mah recalled the indigenous architecture of the barns and cotton gins of the region. Stained concrete floors, exposed wood joists and sloped, corrugated metal roofs form the vocabulary. Translucent roof panels introduce light into the enclosed garden area filled  with lush tropical plantings around a dramatic pool. All rooms open onto this garden creating a house within a house.







These and numerous other homes scattered throughout the city are small testaments to the genius of Francis Mah. He refused to settle for the status quo, always pushing the envelope. His homes became his "laboratories for ideas."



Marty Gorman is an architect with JMGR (formerly Jones, Mah, Gaskill and Rhodes.) This article is the second in a series on Memphis architects which The Keystone plans to publish over the next few years to celebrate Memphis architects who have produced outstanding work locally and elsewhere.