Mark Vinson is a Registered Architect and Certified Planner with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in architecture from Arizona State University. Mark was the City of Tempe’s founding Historic Preservation Officer and was instrumental in the creation of Tempe’s first Historic Preservation Ordinance and Plan, while also serving as City Architect and Urban Design Manager. Mark has been a Faculty Associate at ASU and is now engaged in private practice as VinsonStudio PLLC, now celebrating its tenth anniversary with ongoing preservation projects in Tempe, Mesa and Florence.
Mark is the co-author of two award-winning books, Landmark Buildings: Arizona’s Architectural Heritage and And TiKo-Tu? The Midcentury Architecture of Greater Phoenix’ East Valley. He is currently working on a new book featuring the architecture of Arizona’s state parks.
Mark is a member of the American Institute of Architects’ national College of Fellows and is a recipient of the Arizona Architects Medal, multiple Governor’s Honor Awards for Historic Preservation, the Arizona Preservation Foundation President’s Award and the ASU College of Architecture and Environmental Design Alumni Service Award. His design for an accessory dwelling unit recently won the Best Small Footprint award in a competition sponsored by AARP and the City of Tempe.
Mark is a native of Arizona’s historic Clifton-Morenci mining district and now resides in a desert home of his own design, together with his wife, Linda, and two corgis.