Willmeng Construction recently completed renovations at an Arizona State University landmark, the historic President’s Cottage which housed ASU presidents from 1907 to 1959. The house is now the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing. The Willmeng team led construction of a large, outdoor covered patio which provides the fondly referred to Piper Writer’s House with space to host larger gatherings, workshops and performances.
“It is so wonderful to have a space like this that’s outdoors, that’s creative and that’s right on our campus as kind of the heart of the Humanities community,” said ASU Dean of Humanities Jeffrey Cohen. “I know we will be using this space as a patio a lot, so to have it as a finished space and extension of the house just seems so meaningful and so right.”
The Piper Writer’s House was originally called the President’s Cottage and it served as the home for several university presidents until 1959 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Its rich history includes visits from notable figures like Robert Frost, who was a guest of ASU President Grady Gammage Sr., whose family was the last one to live in the house. The house later became the Alumni House and University Archives before being designated as the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing in 1995.
“The history of the Piper Writer’s House is truly remarkable and our team is proud to be able to add to that history,” said Willmeng CEO James Murphy, an Arizona State University graduate. “Our work with ASU and the number of diverse projects we are working on with the university shows a continued commitment to innovation and a first-class learning experience.”
Grady Gammage Jr.
Grady Gammage Jr., son of the former ASU President, lived in the house during his childhood (from 1951 to 1960). Gammage Jr. attended the ribbon cutting event to celebrate the new space, providing some personal recollections of his time living on the ASU campus.
“I thank all of you who have made this house a living and meaningful part of the campus because that’s very, very cool,” said Gammage Jr., a Founding Member of Phoenix law firm Gammage & Burnham. “This is clearly the best use because this brings students and life back to the house in a way that it was when we lived here.”
For Willmeng, this project followed work it recently completed on renovating another ASU landmark, Alumni Lawn in front of Old Main. Willmeng completed that project in 2024.
“This is one of the most enjoyable projects that I’ve done because it’s historic. You can feel it when you walk in the door. You can feel the pride and the history. You can feel it when you hear Grady talk about it. It’s a wonderful thing,” said Willmeng Market Leader Parrish Rowland. “Willmeng is led by an ASU alum (CEO James Murphy), and we take a lot of pride in anything that we do here at ASU.”
The outdoor space was designed by 4Line Studio. The construction involved repurposing brick pavers from the former walkways at the newly renovated Alumni Lawn, with European Pavers serving as the subcontractor for that phase of the project. Shade Industries was the subcontractor for the steel shade structure.
