The design of this modern retreat draws inspiration from the surrounding high desert landscape, balancing the prospect of sweeping mountain views with a sense of refuge and intimacy. The 6,500-square-foot home’s two west-facing wings launch out of the landscape towards unobstructed, 270-degree views of Bald Mountain, Griffin Butte, and Adams Gulch. The base of the structure is board-formed concrete, while the cantilevered wings are made of steel and glass.

A 23-foot-wide pivot door on the steel and glass bridge allows the entire south-facing wall to open, transforming a simple connection between the two wings (main house and guest quarters) into functional space. The pivoting glass wall is counterbalanced overhead by a large steel weight that sits five feet above the roof; the hand-wheel’s crank is attached to an eight-foot-long screw. The outdoors is welcomed in at nearly every turn, with expansive windows and wide-swinging doors that celebrate the interior/exterior connection.

“When I first visited this site, the owner and I immediately had the idea for a building that seems to be emerging out of the landscape. The east end of the house is buried, while the two projecting west-facing wings have unobstructed 270-degree views of Bald Mountain, Griffin Butte and Adams Gulch. The house takes advantage of all the site has to offer: sweeping landscape views, balanced with a sense of being underneath and within. I’m always trying to find the yin and the yang of a place.” –Tom Kundig, FAIA, RIBA, Design Principal

Materialization

1. Siding – Prerusted, cold rolled 16 ga. Steel w/ square drive exposed fasteners
2. Roof – 20 ga. corrugated weathering steel w/ full EPDM roof below
3. Roof fascia – 5/8-inch bent steel plate
4. Sill fascia and exterior shade valance – 1/4-inch bent steel plate
5. Dynamic – Windows – Thermally broken Steel-arte Windows
6. Ceilings – Tongue and groove reclaimed fir, waxed and aged
7. Glacier Stone Supply – Stone slab flooring – Bighorn
8. Quarry S/E Inc – Kitchen counter slab – Black granite, flamed finish
9. Quarry S/E Inc – Master bath counter slab – Kirby slate, honed finish
10. Quarry S/E Inc – Bath / utility counter slab – Kirby slate, natural cleft
11. Quarry S/E Inc – Master bath / guest bath wall tile – Kirby slate, honed finish
12. Quarry S/E Inc – Bath wall tile – Kirby slate, natural cleft
13. Olson Kundig – Beds, master and guest bedrooms (custom) – Recycled 8x fir and bridle leather
14. Olson Kundig – Dining room table (custom) – Black walnut slab with roller wheels (Tom Kundig Collection product line) and rubber sleeves
15. Tom Kundig Collection by 12th Avenue Iron – Coffee table, great room – Black Table
16. Olson Kundig – Bench, sitting area (custom) – Black walnut slab with roller wheels (Tom Kundig Collection product line) and rubber sleeves
17. Olson Kundig fabricated by Sun Valley Bronze – Dining room lighting (custom) – Blackened steel pulley lights
18. Olson Kundig – Powder room sink (custom) – Blackened and beadblasted stainless steel
19. Olson Kundig – Powder room faucet (custom) – Knurled blackened stainless steel
20. Tom Kundig Collection by 12th Avenue Iron – Hardware
21. Lighting switch covers (custom) – Steel plate, oil finish
22. Handrails (custom) – Waxed mild steel
23. Miele – Kitchen hood – Lifting hood, painted black
24. Kitchen cabinets and shelving (custom) – 8x ebonized recycled oak and mill finish stainless steel