The client sought a more open approach to their new home after years of living in a historic adobe house in the middle of town. The design concept quickly evolved to reflect the couple’s desire to downsize their lifestyle while “super sizing” their views of the dramatic desert landscape.
Creasing and folding the rusted metal skin in plan and section directs primary views in two distinct directions to capture magnificent mountain and city vistas. This informal and improvisational geometry allows high points of the roofline to stretch out into the desert to shade the window wall from harsh summer sun. Foreground Saguaro cacti found along the nearby streambeds and hills are experienced from small square and rectangular windows positioned along the sidewalls. Visual connection to the spectacular landscape is paramount even in the bath, where vanity mirrors at the upper floor bath pivot to reveal the mountain views.
Private functions of the Loft are relegated to the core of the structure and do not touch the outer walls or high ceiling to establish a flow of circulation and view that belies the small footprint. The core also separates living areas from the bedroom and studio.
The rugged and jagged exterior forms a stark contrast to the smooth and controlled interior. Some elements like the vertebrae stair, however, reinterpret the craggy desert into a functional element while interjecting the rustic vocabulary of the building skin into the interior.
