Hasta La Ideas

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American firm Hoogland Architecture has conceived a low-lying concrete residence wrapped in weathering steel, for an active couple who hope to remain in the desert home as they age.

The Arroyo House is located in Blue Diamond, a hamlet just outside Las Vegas in the Mojave Desert. The small community is situated near an active gypsum mine, and also lies within close proximity of Red Rock Canyon – a conservation area that is popular with hikers and rock climbers.

The home was envisioned as a “base camp” for an active couple who are nearing retirement.

“After recently relocating to the Las Vegas area, their love of all things outdoors convinced them to make their home in the tiny village of Blue Diamond,” said local studio Hoogland Architecture in a project description.

“While only minutes from Las Vegas, Blue Diamond is a half-mile-wide by half-mile-long hamlet, surrounded by some of the most iconic landscapes and sought-after rock outcroppings in the US.”

The 3,875-square-foot (360-square-metre) dwelling was built on a sloped site near a natural wash, called an arroyo. For the austere desert site, the architects conceived a low-lying residence that consists of two rectilinear volumes connected by a deck.

One volume is long and horizontal, and serves as the main dwelling. The other form, which rises two levels, is more compact. It contains a garage at ground level and guest accommodation up above.

Exterior walls are made of concrete, weathering steel and vast stretches of glass. Deep roof overhangs protect the glazed walls from the intense desert sun and also shade patios that encircle the home.

The main portion of the dwelling contains a generous master suite and an open-plan area for cooking, dining, and lounging. Large windows and sliding glass doors usher in ample daylight while affording sweeping views of the arid landscape.

While the clients’ decor is eclectic, the team used a restrained palette of colours and materials for interior finishes. Polished concrete floors are paired with bright white walls and ceilings. Light-hued wood cabinetry and stainless steel appliances define the kitchen. In the bathroom, stone tiles evoke the desert terrain that surrounds the home.

One of the primary concerns for the architects was to create a dwelling in which the clients could grow old. “It was important for the home to not only address their needs now, but also 10, 20 or 30 years into the future,” the team said.

In response, the team placed all living spaces on the same level, with the exception of the garage. A driveway connects the upper level to the garage, enabling the clients to drop off their groceries before parking their car down below.

The team also incorporated features such as grab bars and a roll-in shower in the bathroom. Plus, the home’s wraparound deck connects all of the programmr areas, helping “address the realities of ageing in place”.

Sustainability was also considered during the project. Eco-friendly features include low-flow plumbing fixtures, non-toxic paint, and an in-slab radiant system for heating and cooling.

Greywater is used for landscape irrigation, and black water is treated onsite through a septic system. The couple also intends to install a photovoltaic array, with hopes of generating more energy than the home consumes.

Known for its vast desert terrain, Nevada offers a dramatic backdrop for architecture. Other houses in the state include the highly sculptural Shapeshifter House by OPA, which features angled zinc-clad walls and enjoys views of the Sierra Mountains.

Photography is by Stephen Morgan.

The post Hoogland Architecture designs Arroyo House for stark desert site in southern Nevada appeared first on Dezeen.

In our final P.O.D.System Architecture movie, architects Joanna Grant and Jimenez Lai of Bureau Spectacular explain their playful high-rise architecture concept that also functions as furniture or a cat tower at different scales.

Los Angeles studio Bureau Spectacular‘s design for P.O.D.System Architecture – a collaboration between Dezeen and adidas Originals – is a 1:100 scale model of a conceptual mixed-use development comprising a group of high-rise buildings.

As well as representing an architectural concept, the model is designed to be used as a toy for cats to climb on, and can also be taken apart to create five individual pieces of furniture.

“For P.O.D.System Architecture, we are proposing a mixed-use high-rise that happens to be a furniture object; that simultaneously happens to be a cat tower,” Lai explains in the movie, which Dezeen filmed in Los Angeles. “It works on multiple scales as a conceptual exercise.”

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The brief for the P.O.D.System Architecture project calls on architects to create conceptual buildings based on the story behind adidas’ recently launched P.O.D.System shoe, which combines various different shock-absorbing technologies into a single sneaker.

Lai says that the story behind the shoe reminded he and Grant of Voltron: Defender of the Universe – a 1980s cartoon featuring a giant robot made up of a series of smaller robots.

“When we first saw the P.O.D.System shoe, we talked a lot about Voltron, a cartoon that I used to watch as a child,” he explains.

“The P.O.D.System shoe is comprised of disparate components that come together, much akin to the individual super bots that come together as a giant robot in Voltron. We thought – couldn’t architecture do the same?”

Bureau Spectacular’s model comprises four towers, which attach to a central base structure. The five individual model components can be unfolded or extended to create a range of different furniture items.

“It is a model of different scales,” Grant explains. “At one scale, we’re looking at the architectural scale. It combines four towers and one core block where we can imagine different kinds of occupations of humans and different programatic uses.”

“But at another scale, we can think of it as five individual furniture elements, such as a storage for shoes, or a place to hang your coat,” she continues.

When all the furniture pieces are brought together, the model is designed to function as a cat tower for Grant and Lai’s pet, called Helvetica.

“At another scale, we’re conceiving of how we can think of architectural programmes providing opportunities for cats to climb and hide and jump on them,” Grant says.

“Helvetica is always looking up at humans,” Lai adds. “With the Architectural Voltron project she has the opportunity to tower above tiny humans.”

Grant and Lai describe Architectural Voltron: Cats and Socks as a “conceptual exercise”, rather than a serious building proposal. But they believe that it is important to have fun with architecture in order to make it appeal to a wider audience.

“At Bureau Spectacular we are always trying to make designs that friendly or fun, but then are conceivable as a building,” Grant explains.

“Often times people don’t know how to engage with architecture, or contemporary art, or design, and our office is trying to bridge the gap between that. If a building can come across as funny or friendly, that’s a way that we can connect with people.”

This movie was filmed by Dezeen in Los Angeles. It is the final video in the five-part P.O.D.System Architecture series, a collaboration between Dezeen and adidas Originals.

It is dedicated to the memory of Grant and Lai’s pet cat Helvetica, who sadly passed away shortly after filming.

Previous videos in the series feature building concepts designed by fellow Los Angeles-based architecture firms Neil M Denari Architects, Design, Bitches, Standard Architecture and Brooks + Scarpa.

You can watch all the videos at dezeen.com/podsystem.

The post Bureau Spectacular creates high-rise architecture model that doubles as a cat tower appeared first on Dezeen.