Desert landscape
An overview of projects, products and exclusive articles about desert landscape
Atrium 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
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Project • By Whipple Russell Architects • Housing
Bighorn
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
Project • By Reza Jafari & Associates • Rural
L.01
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
Project • By SWABACK pllc • Private Houses
SEDONA MOONGATE
Designed by scottsdale-based architecture and planning studio, SWABACK, the Sedona Moongate residence cuts a striking image amid the rocky desert landscape of arizona. Appearing to rise organically from the ground, the design combines rough, oversized stonework with polished contemporary finishes. The selection of locally sourced stone, ranging from small blocks to boulders the size of a small vehicle, allows the house to appear as if it’s rising out of the landscape.
At the entrance to the site, a semicircular stone structure, or inverted moongate, frames the house and gives it its name. the floor plan is composed of two semicircular wings, which are joined by a rectangular glass box entryway and gallery. The curving glass wal... More