Tyler Jones – Design

Las Vegas was among the hardest-hit cities in the housing meltdown, but you’d never know it from Blue Heron’s sales pace. In a region rife with foreclosures and falling home prices, the design/build company this year has sold nine of the 14 lots in its newest community—and has contracts to build $1.5 million to $3.5 million homes on them. The sales “far surpassed our projections,” says designer Tyler Jones, a partner along with Tommy Isola, Michael Murphy, and his father, Steve Jones. “It’s really a blessing to have this kind of activity right now.”

(From left) Tommy Isola, Michael Murphy, Tyler Jones, and Steve Jones Photo: John Wagner The company’s success in troubled times is far from a coincidence. In an area saturated with mock-Mediterranean beige stucco houses with red tile roofs, Blue Heron’s small neighborhoods offer something distinct. Its architecture is unmistakably modern in form, materials, and floor plan. The “desert contemporary” style, as Jones calls it, responds to both the natural and human environments with warm, earthy interiors; free-flowing layouts; and indoor-outdoor relationships that embrace a climate which is dry and free of flying insects. “We try for a sophisticated style that lends itself to a more relaxed way of life,” he says. “We typically don’t do living rooms, and we’ve done multimillion-dollar homes with no formal dining rooms.”

Blue Heron also aims for healthy, resource-efficient houses. It knows state-of-the-art technologies inside and out, having worked with the U.S. Department of Energy to build NAHB’s 2009 New American Home. And while costly items such as solar panels and insulated concrete forms are left to the homeowner’s discretion, standard measures include passive solar design, low-VOC materials, a construction waste program, and water-smart landscaping.

Speaking of landscaping, it’s part of the integrated design approach Jones insists on taking. He doesn’t just hand over a house to the interior designer and the landscape architect; instead, he works with them to develop a cohesive whole. “Everything is master-planned,” he says. “I think that’s what makes our homes come together. It’s not about different disciplines with their own ideas, but about having a focused vision that drives everything in the same direction.”

Blue Heron
Las Vegas
http://blueheronliving.com
Type of business: Design/build
Years in business: 4
Employees: 10
2008 volume: $15 million
2008 starts: 15