The Ranch Mine together with Identity Construction has designed and built this modern courtyard home situated on a spacious property in central Phoenix, Arizona. The design of this home is inspired by the ancient art of pottery — one of the homeowners is a ceramic artist. 

The front elevation consists of three primary materials, board-formed concrete, steel, and stucco, chosen for their ability to handle the intense desert sun. These simple materials were used in three ways: board-formed concrete for the front plane and first story to anchor the structure and add texture to the transition between building and landscape, white stucco set back as the second plane carries up to the second story to provide depth and contrast.

DESIGN DETAILS: ARCHITECT The Ranch Mine BUILDER Identity Construction LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT The Green Room Landscape Architecture

Steel was used for window shading, providing horizontal and vertical datums to highlight the dynamic form of desert plants. All of these elements were then asymmetrically composed and pushed forward and backward to allow the sun to modify them throughout the day and year with shadow and changing color.

Encompassing 6,500 square feet of living space, this dwelling was designed to be rigid in structure while malleable in use, precise in form while imperfect in texture, and varied in volume while limited in materials. Schematically the house is broken into its functional elements, a living volume, a sleeping volume, and a utility volume.

They are arranged on the site to create a large courtyard, using the buildings to provide privacy and shelter from the desert sun. The outdoor areas were designed for both pleasure and production.

What We Love: This modern courtyard home boasts fantastic design elements both indoors and out. The layout of this dwelling was designed around a large central courtyard, sheltering this family from the hot desert sun to enjoy outdoor activities. We love that this home offers beautiful landscaping to inspire working from home, especially for an artist!

Tell Us: What details do you find most appealing in the design of this Arizona home? Let us know your thoughts in the Comments, we love reading your feedback!

Note: Take a look at another fabulous home tour that we have featured here on One Kindesign from the portfolio of the architects of this home: Mountainside home gets spectacular modern remodel in the Arizona desert.

Stepping out from the house you are welcomed into a covered patio with a dining and grilling area just steps away from a sunken fire pit area, olive grove, and pool with an integrated Baja shelf and hot tub.

In terms of production, the property includes a chicken coop, citrus grove, stone fruit grove, and raised planting beds for vegetables and herbs.

Behind the Corten steel siding is a gap and continuous rigid insulation and R-20 in the cavity of the wall. Steel absorbs solar radiation, like all materials, as well as transmits and reflects it in varying degrees. The steel has a very high emissivity which is good for radiating that heat back to the atmosphere which is beneficial in Arizona’s hot, sunny climate with large temperature swings.

 

Photos: Roehner + Ryan