Essence of the Desert

"Life thrives in the shadow of the boulders" was the concept behind this robust home in Scottsdale, AZ.

Amit Upadhye designed a house in the desert, capturing the essence of the native climate to create a dwelling sensitive to the phenomenological aspects of living within the desert. Memories and visions of boulders and shadows in the desert were borrowed in the formation of the project. It was through these borrowed moments of the desert that brought the concepts of micro-climates and desert living to the Essence of the Desert House. The boulders act as heat sinks and as thermal masses.
The Native Americans were aware of this phenomenon, often building homes in the shadows of such boulders. It is through this challenging and yet engaging nature of the Sonoran Desert that allows for meaningful and poetic dialogue between place and built environment, creating opportunities for natural phenomena to be translated into meaningful architecture rooted in the nature and essence of the desert.

Images of boulders were constant through out the design of the project, being used metaphorically to create the walls of the residence. These walls cast desirable shadows on the east and west parts of the project were the family would be spending most of their time. The house is separated from the garage by a two-story high chasm that runs north to south, acting as the spine of the composition. This spine connects the main house to the detached guest house to the north through the open patio.