A House in the Mountain in Tucson, Arizona

Apr

Today we leave New York and we go south, to the deepest land of sand and fire in the United States.

Today New York Design Agenda travels to Tucson, Arizona, to find a fantastic mountain retreat. Sometimes the routine tell us to leave the Big City!

The sonoran desert is mystical landscape replete with warm hues and expanses of arid-appropriate greenery. among the eroded sculptures of rocky outcroppings and complex reliefs of nearby arroyos, a rammed earth home designed by local firm dust lightly touches the landscape.

the tucson-based architecture, construction and fabrication team comprised of jesus robles and cade hayes, has imbued their first project with the sacred weight of the landscape. the home values its approach through a winding desert path of lush desert plants until the architecture emerges from the harsh scenery dotted with cacti and palo verde, a native desert shrub. the entryway is series of concrete volumes that dissolve into the desert floor, yet playfully lead to the quiet aperture of the glazed front space.

the rammed earth construction creates meandering lateral lines across the planes of the house, serving to refer to both a topographic horizon and the richly layered skin of the earth within and throughout that structure.

The truth is that the fragile environment is respected both actually and visually, with moments of bilateral glazing affording uninterrupted lines of sight into the golden, arid terrain while also providing ample cross-ventilation. additionally, an upper deck further allows the inhabitant to further internalize the dazzling, dusty stretch of terrain as the oranges of the sunset give way to the warm purple-blues of the night sky.

the very materials of the dwelling draw from the power of fire; interior walls selectively use the ‘shou sugi ban’ siding technique, a japanese method wherein charred cedar is used to preserve wood. alabaster cladding and tiles complete the warm palette of the bathrooms, often open to the elements, while the rest of the home is filled with the warm squares of the afternoon sun.