White Stone Flats

Overcoming Challenges and Defying all the odds:
Benjamin Hall and White Stone Flats brings timeless modern design to historic downtown Phoenix, Arizona

Great projects sometimes come in small packages: White Stones Flats is one of these, and it also represents perfectly what the future of Phoenix can look like.
Right now Phoenix is producing another generation of forward thinkers and “Hands- on” doers, and Benjamin Hall is one of them, which he has proven with WHITE STONE FLATS.White Stone Flats, born out of necessity, represents now new ideas and great solutions.
For Downtown Phoenix Living the choices are limited:
Condo High-Rises, small bungalows in several historic districts or non descriptive apartment complexes.
None of these was attractive to Benjamin Hall the architectural principal of his namesake company Benjamin Hall Design.
He wanted to live in the vibrant, diverse fabric of downtown Phoenix, but did not want to sacrifice on his viewpoints relating to design, space and the possibility of having guests and family stay with him.
Hall decided to become his own client and WHITE STONE FLATS is the result.
On an undersized infill lot with extreme setback requirements,White Stone Flats brings timeless modern design to historic downtown Phoenix, Arizona and defies all the odds.

Situated in the Triangle Neighborhood of downtown Phoenix, Arizona, this contemporary two story residential development is challenging every aspect of contemporary downtown living. With White Stone Flats, Principal Benjamin Hall of Benjamin Hall Design, conceptualized and designed an eye-catching project on a small infill lot that the city had little hope for. The project demonstrates the potential of urban renewal through thoughtful design, and creates a tranquil space right in the heart of a bustling downtown.

The ideas behind White Stones Flats benjaminhalldesign.com
were curated by Benjamin Hall over a long period of time. The root idea of finding solace and refuge in a busy city developed through the process of distilling the natural elements of sky, sound, touch, and sunlight. Instead of focusing its attention outwards and beyond like most projects concerned about appearance in a city, the Flats reverses its attention inwards and focuses on the small details and simple gestures of living, that we often overlook in our daily lives. The act of opening a door, turning on water, and simply laying in bed and looking at the stars are made intentional through detail.

The ideas Hall first started exploring came from design projects early in his studies at The University of Arizona, and subsequently the Danish International School. Hall has built on this foundation throughout his career, adding inspiration from experiences living in Copenhagen and traveling to Mexico City.

The main objective of White Stone Flats was to capture the functions of the typical home in an intentional, fundamentally smaller space. Working within a 730 square-foot area, which includes a private outdoor atrium, the White Stone Flats setting is a comfortable, two-person home that targets the demand for modern, architectural, and high quality urban living.
The design itself is conscious of the City's desire for increased density, while respecting the context of the neighborhood's one-story historic homes. White Stone Flats stands only 20ft. tall, while the city allowance for the property is 48ft. The project utilized an existing undersized dirt lot (infill project), considered unbuildable in the already-established neighborhood fabric. White Stone Flats is now seen as a case study to larger developers whom often scrap and combine multiple parcels into larger swaths, erasing the existing neighborhood to achieve their financial objective. White Stone Flats reaches individuals who desire to live in an authentic piece of architecture without having the funds to build a custom project themselves.

After noticing that most homes in the neighborhood bear heavy window coverings to protect from the harsh Arizona heat, Hall designed a contemporary solution in order to capture sunlight from above, through the insertion of an atrium that services all internal spaces. The exterior shell of the building and the interior walls are constructed from specially fabricated foam filled CMU blocks. To complete the project Hall utilized 42 different block types with two subtle but different surface treatments. The exterior side of the blocks is designed to reject solar heat gain while the interior surface reflects and amplifies natural light, creating a light-filled, welcoming living environment without the need for abundant exterior windows.

“It was like a game of chess,” explains Hall. The goal was to create a humble yet intelligent project, one that adheres to all existing zoning challenges while maximizing comfort on a particularly small site. Understanding material behavior and selecting smart finishes are all moves on the chessboard. It’s a tantalizing challenge to dream of something so pure and bring it to fruition. From the time things exist on paper to the moments they take shape by actual human hands, we are continuously reminded of the intent of the project: Quality over Quantity.”

About Benjamin Hall Design: Benjamin Hall Design, founded in 2011, is a Phoenix-based design practice whose commitment is to the lost profession of master builder, one who can perform both design and construction tasks. From conceptualizing projects including all necessary documents for construction, Benjamin Hall design works side-by-side with contractors, swinging hammers and welding steel. Benjamin Hall is the Distinguished Building- Honor Award recipient of The AIA Chapter Arizona in 2015. benjaminhalldesign.com/abo...