A canopy of angled ceiling planes radiate out towards the expansive city and mountain views while defining the various volumes of the home. These richly pigmented roofs also condition the exterior and interior living spaces from the sun while contrasting against the sandy tones of the exterior which blend naturally with the backdrop of Camelback Mountain.
Dynamic volumes of space define the separate zones of the great room and expand seamlessly into the front yard and lush garden backyard—heightening the feeling of living intentionally within nature.
The Birds Nest Residence is characterized by strong geometric forms and materials reminiscent of mid-century modern architecture with influences from Richard Neutra and noted Arizona architect Al Beadle. The guiding principles of the modern masters are evident in the building’s clean simplicity and sophisticated integration into the site. The use of natural materials and the seamless relationship of interior to exterior spaces create an airy feeling of openness and an expansive quality. The large open space of the Great Room and its direct relationship to the adjacent pool terrace serves as the organizing principal. This tall central volume has an unobstructed visual link to the Kitchen and Dining spaces as well as to both the enclosed front courtyard and the pool terrace. All rooms, including “birds nest” on the second floor, have immediate access to a private courtyard, terrace or exterior space that give the residence an intimate scale. The native desert plants and trees serve as a counterpoint to soften the bold geometry and rectilinear building forms. The site walls are thoughtfully integrated into the landscape design creating serene courtyards while maintaining the owner’s desire for a high degree of privacy.
Sited in the 1930’s era neighborhood known as F.Q. Story, the Escobar Renovation represents the character and flavor of one of very few areas in the young city of Phoenix, Arizona that can be called historic. The majority of the 602 homes that comprise this neighborhood still retain the varying architectural styles that make this district unique. Homes in this area are distinctly smaller than today’s average homes.
The Escobar Renovation is a renovation to an existing home whose architectural style can be categorized as having an English Tudor style. With the exception of a small storage closet, this home has largely remained untouched for nearly 100 years. As a result, the spaces of the home served a very different need indicative of that era. The existing 1,100 square foot (SF) house was separated into many different spaces each being closed off from one another. Codes and guidelines mandated by the City of Phoenix required that any new work to the exterior maintain the character of the historic qualities of this home and neighborhood.
There are only a few instances in an architectural career where a client and an architect’s vision unify into an immaculate and complete expression of art and architecture. We were very fortunate to work with a couple who, devoted to the ideals of minimalism’s stark allure, asked us to design a house in the foothills of Tucson, Arizona, located in the profoundly diverse Sonoran Desert. The owners’ refined sense of contrast required a “modern, minimal home: a pristine box that seemed to have landed in the desert.”
Client’s Vision: A modern, open design with minimal barriers to capture the stunning desert and mountain views.
Design Approach: Dynamic simplicity expressed in Modern design elements that allow the natural desert to become an integral part the interior living experience.
Elegant minimalism drives the choice of rectangular, sand‐finished stucco walls, ceramic panel accents, and a rectangular flying roof over the Patio and Front Entry supported with thin columns. Floor to ceiling window walls provide extraordinary views of the desert and mountains beyond the Pool and Spa.
Desert wash. A home where the line between inside and out is so blurred that nature sometimes comes crawling into your room. Take a moment and watch the video on Desert Wash, a home designed by Kendle Design Collaborative. It will change your perspective about what site sensitive modern architecture can be.
Desert Wash is a unique modern home designed to celebrate nature and desert living. A home that turns an unwelcome obstacle for traditional residential design, a desert wash which periodically floods throughout the year, into a focal feature of natural beauty that delights and inspires a young energetic family, teaching life lessons everyday about living as one with nature.
A modest single story hillside home designed for a family wishing to downsize and simplify. The feel of this home is evocative of the mid-century modern homes which once dominated the surrounding area before the McMansion craze of the last decade. Humble, natural materials such as rammed earth walls, limestone floors and Douglass Fir wood ceilings are woven inside and out in a sophisticated play of interlocking interior and exterior living spaces.
Construction is complete on the tallest addition to the Phoenix Biomedical Campus—the 10-story Biomedical Sciences Partnership Building (BSPB) designed by Los Angeles-based CO Architects with Ayers Saint Gross of Tempe, AZ. Programmed, designed, and constructed in only 27-months, the 245,000-square-foot, $99-million laboratory complex allows University of Arizona research scientists to collaborate with local healthcare providers and private companies to find new medical cures and treatments.
“We will pursue expanded partnerships with industry that we hope will lead to groundbreaking discoveries,” said University of Arizona President Ann Weaver Hart at the building’s dedication ceremony. “This building will allow us to further these efforts, and, ultimately, improve lives.”
Programmatically the home is split into two zones, one a 4300 sf. residence for the owners, a couple requiring a very low maintenance lifestyle, and another zone for their extensive family and friends who visit the Arizona sunshine often.
Desert form, indigenous materials, natural light and mountain views inspire this home. Layered walls of rammed-earth, metal, concrete and glass create a playful collection of organic forms within a natural desert setting while visually articulating the various functions within.
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