Desert

The origin of the design idea behind this home was to create both privacy and openness. The home is nestled into a four+ acre lot that overlooks Pinnacle Peak in Scottsdale, AZ. We created an oasis, with lots of water features. For example, the negative-edge pool doesn’t face outwards; it faces the home so it’s like having a waterfall in your yard. Additional water features are introduced for a cooling effect. Rammed-earth walls – compressed earth mix with cement – create a cool, earthy looking wall. The home has lots of plants, garden areas and open doors. What makes it unique is that it's a glass house with privacy. We sunk the house into the terrain so it’s earth sheltered in a way. JMAD JMAD JM... More

The unique program of this public library is based on contemporary bookstore concepts and includes a popular library with a 120,000-volume collection, as well as a coffee bar and bookstore elements. The program also includes a children’s program room, two multipurpose rooms, computer training center, and a dedicated teen area. Bill Timmerman Bill Timmerman The building is a remembrance of the desert slot canyons of northern Arizona and Monument Valley, capturing the powerful and unique experience between the compressive stone walls and the ultimate release to the sky above. Ever-patient threads of water, sculpting and polishing the massive walls, cut these natural sandstone canyons over millennia. Harder stone and slow wate... More

The desert is open space and long views, but also the close-up, detailed perfection of the cactus flower. It is nature’s serene minimalism. This is the setting for our project inside the gated community of The Vintage in Indian Wells, California. William MacCollum This project involved deep creative collaboration with the clients, who partnered with architect Marc Whipple and the W^R team on every aspect of the interior design, and personally curated or co-designed each of the many art pieces throughout the house. With a passion for racing and cars, and also for collecting fine wines, the program was going to include dazzling and innovative displays that would be both highly visible and striking artistic statements. This house... More

William MacCollum   This project was built adjacent to the Mountain Course in the Bighorn Golf Club, Palm Desert, California, in the foothills of the Santa Rosa Mountains. The design of the central living space has formed a theatrical proscenium, framing the desertscape scene of mountains, trees, and sky. William MacCollum   Our client visited the desert frequently growing up, and always wanted a house there. In addition to an indoor/outdoor open feeling, he wanted to see water from every vantage point in the house.   “This is why we not only have the backyard patio that pockets neatly into the fireplace and kitchen, but have created the entryway courtyard, which is really a very large pond. From anywhe... More

The project begins by placing a vertical plane within the vast openness of the desert; a simple element that, rather than asserting a fixed presence, continuously transforms in relation to the landscape, light, and the observer’s position. At times, the plane appears as an independent, dark object; at others, it captures the image of the ground and sky, and in certain moments, through the reflection of light, it loses the boundary between itself and its surroundings. The work emerges through this constant transition between presence and disappearance. As the observer moves, not only does the image of the plane change, but their relationship with the expansive desert is transformed as well. The circle traced on the ground does not def... More

The idea of horizon is strongly felt on the site through the stark mesa that lies adjacent to the community. Overpowering in scale, the Mesa forms the backdrop of the project. Caption Caption This idea of horizon is grounded in the concept of TERRA. A single-story structure in constant connection to the desert floor, low in profile, the roof edge, demarcated with a steel ribbon, forms a datum line, characteristically reflecting the Mesa’s strong horizontal edge. Caption Caption Light is in constant play in the desert, reflecting off the desert floor...diffused through the leaves of mesquite trees. In TERRA, the roof encompasses the project, extending past the edge of the enclosure,  to form a series of prote... More

The house and studio for a Visual Artist and his fiancee, respond to a series of themes such as the relationship with the physical context, the needs of the client, security and a limited budget. For this project, six options were analyzed at the schematic design level that sought to control the wind that comes from the northeast and that occurs in the first months of the year with greater intensity, the sun and the quality of light that enters the building, as well as its cost, energy, and specific operating expenses.   Through the use of various design performance tools and technologies such as Fluid Dynamics, Energy Consumption Analysis Material Life Cycle Assessment, and Climate Analysis” the existing conditions were reprod... More

In the hot, dry desert with mountains in the background sits a cool white pearl, like a mirage in the landscape. The client – an artist and astronomer – requested a home integrating a workshop, art gallery and telescope dome. Although half its area is a workshop, the residence did not split into a living/working duality; an exhibition gallery blends the two programmatic spaces. The main staircase intersects a corner of the room, making interaction with the works of art intertwined with circulation through the house. Blossoming like a desert flower, large doors open into the central courtyard where a curved canopy with translucent acrylic filters the harsh sunlight. Tucked partially underneath the second floor, the pool’s shallow end provide... More

The context for this site consists of larger homes on one-acre lots. Aesthetically, the neighboring houses’ architectural language is more often than not, associated with speculative developer trends and styles, rather than an integrated understanding of the site, the views, and other opportunities. As a result, the project required a strategy which would edit out the immediate context of this neighborhood while focusing on distant views of the McDowell Mountains to the north and the valley to the south and southwest. The project also sought to create a protected courtyard space for the backyard and pool area as an immediate focus for the lower level of the house in contrast to the second level taking advantage of the more distant views.... More