The Tucson Inn in 2017, taken by Richard Shattuck
The site as it currently exists is little more than a patch of dirt, however it wasn't always this way. Before the construction of the I-10 when Oracle Rd was the only way into Tucson from the North, the Drachman area was the premier area for hotels to be built and visitors to stay. On the site in particular were the Tucson Inn and El Rancho Motor Hotel.
After the construction of the I-10, the area became destitute, deprived of its source of economic purpose. Slowly hotels closed down and resituated themselves around the I-17 and University. The Tucson Inn closed in May 2017 due to building code violations. Both locations were bought out by Pima County Community College and later demolished.
A photo of buildings on Drachman Street being demolished in 2025, taken by Mamta Popat of The Arizona Daily Star
Empty Lot on Pima Community College as of 2026, taken by me
And for what grand reason was the site demolished? A parking lot of course! (Plus some empty dirt lots)
And though it may be tempting to mourn the past and to desperately try to return, the old world is gone because it no longer has the capacity to exist in the modern world. To return to the past is merely to delay the present state of things. We must instead look forwards.
The El Rancho Motor Hotel in the 50's, original photographer unknown
Pima's Machining Lab, taken by me
To this end, we must design in light of the reality that this space is now part of the Pima Community College. The downtown campus is already a highly technical one, with machining labs and masonry yards.
Hence, the question becomes, what new machine will it be that builds the future? There are several paths we could go down, but lets not pretend we don't have a bias in this. If we wish to continue our life as a species on this rock, humans will have to play a part in this process.
Construction workers in India, taken by Abhishek Kirloskar
4419 N Campbell Rd, an earthen building designed by Josias Joesler, taken by Me
On this path of the future (one where humanity survives), perhaps the only realistic method for areas climatically similar to the southwest is construction through mud. And so, we arrive at our answer of what to do with this space.