On two hundred acres of the far northeast Valley, MorDo Ranch stands as the manifestation of Mort and Donna Fleischer’s dream to fully explore their passions for horses, art collecting and horticulture. At the center of MorDo is their home, a beautiful combination of rustic charm from the Argentinian pampas and the Old World style of Europe.
In the early 1990′s, the Fleischers were searching for inspiration to guide the creation of MorDo’s crown jewel. Their desire was to build a ranch home which was southwestern in its feel, but didn’t rely on the motifs typical of Arizona. The couple found inspiration in books detailing the history and style of Argentinian estancias, homes on vast rural estates which developed on the pampas of South America in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The word “estancia” translates from Spanish as “ranch”, fitting well with the Fleischer’s desire to create a working ranch to be used for raising cutting horses.
Estancias evolved from the early days of European colonization in South America, beginning as large structures which functioned as headquarters for ranching on the vast frontier of the pampas. Raids by native tribes were frequent, causing early landowners to build fortified structures featuring heavy walls and windows with iron grates. Over time, the pampas became more civilized, landowners grew wealthier and architecture became more ornamental. Estancias acquired increasingly European features and gained a stately feel comparable to the great manors of Spain, Italy, France and England. Throughout their evolution, however, estancias retained some common features, the most prominent of which is the mirador, a tall watchtower originally used to alert estancia residents of a raid by natives. Miradors are now decorative features, but are seen on nearly all estancias, regardless of when they were constructed.
MorDo Ranch is an interpretation of the estancia style as applied to the Sonoran desert of Arizona. It was designed by the late architect George Christensen of CCBG Architects in Phoenix and was built in 1995 by Kitchell Custom Homes. The home comfortably blends with the desert north of McDowell Mountain Regional Park, offering gorgeous views of the McDowell Mountains and Four Peaks to the east. To help the structure blend with the surrounding desert vegetation, the exterior of the home is painted army green. Christensen’s design maximizes the surrounding desert and mountain views through its use of arches, passageways and open space to create views to the outside. Although the Sonoran desert provides beautiful vistas throughout the year, the design of the home really shines during the spring when wildflowers bloom throughout the grounds of the estate and create a panoply of color.
In June we wrote about photographing the Fleischer’s impressive collection of Western memorabilia. In the wake of that photoshoot, Patrick was asked to return for a photography shoot which focused on the architecture of the home. He recently completed that assignment and we wanted to highlight a few of the images he captured.
Patrick’s goal in photographing the house was to accurately present the scale and functionality of the spaces found throughout. Thanks to his years of experience with architecture photography, he was able to carefully blend in a controlled amount of artificial light while still capitalizing on the natural light abundant in the home.
A delightful feature which Patrick captured is the view from the main entryway of the house through the foyer and out through the back of the home. All of the doors in this space are glass, providing an unbroken sight line. Standing outside the front of the house, three arches frame the space leading to the front door.
The main entryway
Within the foyer, natural light fills the space where the entryway arches can be seen framing the view out to the gate. Even the gate continues the arch motif.
Looking out through the foyer to the arches of the entryway
Beyond the foyer is the Afrizona room . At this point, the arch motif ends and the room provides a view to the desert beyond through a large rectangular door. The Afrizona room offers its own unique character which blends a classic Arizona room with the art and artifacts of eastern Africa. Donna has traveled to Africa on three different occasions and was joined by Mort on two of those trips. During their adventures in countries such as South Africa, Kenya and Tanzania, they continued to follow their shared passion for collecting. As their African collection grew, they found a home for many pieces in the Arizona room, eventually bestowing it with the moniker it now holds.
The Afrizona Room
The centerpiece of the home is the spacious great room which blends living, dining and entertainment areas into a single open space. Large windows allow natural light to illuminate the room while outside the window, the entryway arches provide a contrasting backdrop to the square motif of the window panes.
The great room with its open feel and large window
At the opposite end of the great room is the dining area, while the staircase to one of the home’s two miradors can be seen. The staircase featured here leads up to Mort’s study, while the other mirador houses Donna’s office.
The dining table and a view of the great room
Finally, the master bathroom offers a relaxing sanctuary. Custom carved dark wood cabinets contrast with white marble countertops while the emphasis on natural light carries through from the rest of the house.
The relaxing space of the master bathroom
Photographing MorDo Ranch was a fantastic project for tonic studios. It offered challenges to overcome, but working with the Fleischers and having the opportunity to photograph such a unique home was an incredible experience.
