Union Bank also designed by Ivan Sarkiss & Associates

Ivan Sarkiss – Architect designed many prominent Tucson buildings

Last Updated on April 29, 2024 by Kim Labriola

Ivan Sarkiss was an Armenian-born architect who worked in Tucson on residential and commercial projects. Sarkiss and Associates collaborated on many large projects in Tucson, including the Pima Superior County Courthouse (1974), and the Skyline Country Club (1963).


Interested in buying or selling a home in Tucson? Contact us to go over your needs. 520-975-8956 or Hello@RealTucson.com


Sarkiss and Associates designed a modern bank on Grant Road & Park Avenue in 1972. Originally called Union Bank (now a Compass Bank), it was designed with cast-in-place concrete in a style known as ‘Brutalism’. The term brutalism was taken from the French term beton brut, meaning rough concrete. The texture of the wood planks used to mold the concrete is still visible.  Brutalism was popular from the 1950s – 1970s. Another great example of the Brutalism style in the Tucson area is the Pima Community College West Campus (which was designed by Caudill Rowlett Scott of Texas, in collaboration with several local firms, including William Wilde and Friedman/Jobusch)

Close up of cast-in-place concrete texture
Close up of cast-in-place concrete texture

This is part of a series about Tucson architects.

Buying or selling a home in Tucson? Contact us today to go over your needs: Hello@RealTucson.com or 520-975-8956