Gordon Rogers, architect, passed away in October 2015. It was sudden, but also not so sudden. He had been battling prostate cancer for a number of years.
Gordon became our partner and friend in 1994, more than a decade after he moved to Phoenix (for the second time) from his home state of Michigan with his wife, Lee Porter, and their two children, Michael and Julie. It was in the Valley of the Sun that Gordon applied his clean and timeless style to luxury residences in the same way he had the Michigan homes and cottages that peeked out from the woods and dotted the shores of Lake Michigan. He loved architecture as a whole, but what interested him the most were buildings from around the world, structures made by the forces of nature (he loved the Grand Canyon), and bridges, which, as noted in his obituary, “was fitting for a man as strong and supportive as he was.”
We worked on at least 20 projects with Gordon. He had a crisp, curious mind and an almost obsessive focus on the details. He was fun, thoughtful, and above all genuine. When he said nice things about us, we knew he meant it. Even those of us who didn’t work with him directly adored him.
He was a beloved original in an age of high-tech throwaways. He will be missed, but most of all, he will be remembered.
