Situated on the side of a Sonoran Desert mountain, this Mummy Mountain Residence makes for a homey bungalow with a minimal visual footprint because of the way that it blends into the natural desert landscape.
Chen + Suchart Studio took a two tiered approach to this residence. On the one hand, they designed the home to be a cool and protected escape from the harshness of the desert, but in doing so they refused to compromise on Mummy Mountain’s greatest asset: its view.
Polished concrete floors and neutral colored grays and blues of the interior provide easy undertones and complete respite from the scorching desert sun. Detailed touches, like the level 5 plaster walls are articulated as vaneers to add an element of warm finish against the otherwise intentionally raw spaces.
On the exterior, parallel sandblasted concrete block walls (CMU) create the foundation for focusing on the undisturbed views of Pinnacle Peak, the McDowell Mountains, Four Peaks, and the Superstition Mountains. The strategically placed Cor-Ten clad metal stud walls edit out neighboring man made structures that may detract from the desert landscape.
With the exception of two rooms located at different elevations, the majority of this residence was designed on a single level due to the clients’ age. When the occasion is right though, the home’s flat roof provides not only a totally unobstructed view, but also a space for listening to the desert coyotes and watching the city lights illuminate at night in the distance.
[Via Contemporist]
Posted by Lauren Proctor at 23 July, 2010
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