[ Marwan Al-Sayed Architects ] desert city house

Marwan Al-Sayed Architects have completed a house in Paradise Valley, Arizona.

Bedrooms and bathrooms are located on the ground floor in twoseparate, one-storey, cast concrete structures, which are partiallysunken into the ground to provide privacy and shade.

The upper floor spans these two volumes and comprises living, dining and cooking spaces, as well as outdoor decking.

The following information is from Marwan Al-Sayed Architects:

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DESERT CITY HOUSE
Located on a relatively flat one-acre parcel in Paradise Valley,Arizona, within the Phoenix metropolitan area, the site is opposite theArizona Canal with panoramic views to the Squaw Peak Mountain reserveto the north and Camelback Mountain to the east.

This house is conceived as an archaic thick mass casting, with thetwo one story volumes defining the entry courtyard and acting as a basefor the plaster volume upper story, which houses the main living,dining and kitchen spaces, as well as outdoor dining decks. This“reverse” living plan makes sense in the hot dry desert climate ofArizona. Bedrooms and bathrooms on the ground level are semi sunkeninto the earth, affording privacy, shade and immediacy to the desertfloor which surrounds it - rooms stay cool and intimate - while theupper public level affords the spectacular views of the surroundingtopography, as well as participates in the constant light show of vastsky, clouds and colors that so typifies the urban desert experience. Additionally, the raised living room volume which spans between the twoconcrete masses creates a large shaded outdoor living room, that iscooled by the water feature and opens to the natural desert foliagewhile cutting off views to the non-descript suburban houses thatsurround it.

Protruding and in deliberate contrast from the lower mass volumesare mysteriously proportioned glass Light Monitors which serve to drinkin the abundant sky and sun, and simultaneously, will act as a draw foringeniously placed fresh air intakes that allows the house to naturallycool during the shoulder seasons. At night, these Monitors surreallyglow against the desert sky.

The palette is kept deliberately monotone to help accentuate thesubtle grays, silvers and green casts of the desert landscape. Integralwhite cast concrete walls (20″ thick) lend an almost classical,Mediterranean effect, while helping dissipate and reflect heat gain,the “albedo”-effect. Plaster volumes are also rendered in shades ofwhite, the overall effect, with the addition of the translucent, whiteglass light monitors creates a subtle white-on-white tonal range,accentuated internally with small subtle shades of green, green yellowand black through the use of tile and wood.

Urban desert living made simple, graced by strong apertures in thickwalls, slightly inflected and with proportions more commonly found inancient cities than the cities and homes that surround us today.

Sustainability Criteria:

Site: Urban/Suburban infill. Thick mass concrete walls shield east and west exposures.

Landscape: Only indigenous desert vegetation utilized with xeriscape principles (low water use plants and irrigation system)

Indoor air quality: A fresh air intake system draws fresh outsideair, filters it, and runs it through large underground ducts to thehouse and releases it where it flows and is drawn up the large lightmonitors, which act as solar chimneys, where at the top a series ofautomated operable glass louvers vent the air to the outside. Thispassive cooling system is used in the shoulder seasons of spring, falland winter and eliminates the conventional needs for air conditioningin the shoulder seasons.

Materials and resources: Material palette is kept to a minimum ofmaterials that are maintenance free and have a long life. Thermallyinsulated operable glass louvers provide natural ventilation throughoutthe house.

Energy and Resources: Ancient principle of thick mass walls withthermal lag effect common in desert climates. Also with use of whiteconcrete and plaster, the “albedo”-effect is achieved which is theincidence of reflected sunlight off an object’s surface, therebyreducing solar heat gain. This is a principle common to ancient desertcities and is rendered here in a contemporary way.

Homeowner’s awareness: Clients initially requested a “cutting edge”design in terms of environmental impact. Original design was utilizingcast earth walls (a mix of earth and gypsum), which was abandoned dueto lack of qualified sub-contractors to execute this material. Originalhouse design, carried through construction documents, was to employ afully capillary tube radiant cooling system in lieu of conventionalair-conditioning systems, but this was also abandoned due to lack oflocal contractor’s experience and thus over inflated pricing for thesystem.  Working with our engineers, the goal was a net zero energyhouse which ultimately could not be achieved with the budget and lackof available contractors for untried systems. What remained were thepassive cooling strategies of the solar chimneys and the thick masswall construction.

Innovation and Design Process: Innovative materials such as castearth, radiant cooling, solar chimneys, and solar energy wereresearched, mocked up and in some cases utilized in the final productbut in other cases abandoned due to either lack of local expertise,costs, or lack of single source responsibility (i.e. controls for theradiant cooling system). Thus, this project typifies that despite thebest of intentions on behalf of the clients and the architects andengineers, it is still difficult to afford or execute completesustainability solutions at such a small scale of the single-familyresidence.

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