Real House | HK Associates | 2025 | 澳大利亚
In the Arizona desert, Real House by HK Associates is a considered family sanctuary, where honest materials and artful visual trickery showcase respect for an enduring natural landscape.Emerging from Arizona’s Sonoran Desert, a reductive retreat stands deeply in tune with its arid surrounds, providing shelter and solitude for a spirited young family. Devised as a strategic viewfinder, the architecture melds with the sprawling landscape that encircles Real House – concealing, framing and mirroring the vast expanse. This is a shelter that rests lightly upon its rocky outcrop in a reciprocal dialogue with nature.
Conceived by architects Kathy Hancox and Michael Kothke of HK Associates, the brief began with a search for the perfect setting, one that would embody the qualities of openness and privacy. “Our clients were interested in finding a site in the Catalina Foothills of Tucson that had sweeping views,” explains Hancox. “As these kinds of sites are scarce, we instead transformed a secluded parcel, surrounded by neighbours and downslope from a busy road.”Positioned on an undeveloped block amid an enclave of standalone houses, the site is bisected by a protected arroyo – a mostly dry desert riverbed commonly referred to as a wash. Defined by a gently sloping terrain, this geological feature sets a robust framework for the placement of this new dwelling to frame striking views toward the hilly horizon.
A sanctuary for the parents and their three young daughters, Real House is precisely orientated to the sun and prevailing breezes, interspersed by sheltered loggias and pocket gardens that serve to erode the lines between inside and out. “The design of the home is an echo of desert architectural traditions – an abstraction of a courtyard typology and simple Sonoran massing – rendered in white plaster that recalls Tucson’s row housing and the iconic San Xavier del Bac Mission,” says Kothke. Heightening the interplay with the exterior, a substantial rooftop periscope runs the length of the communal domain, drawing in views of the Santa Catalina mountains while retaining visual privacy.“This creates a privileged sightline that clears neighbouring houses and the looming hillside to connect inhabitants to a scene that shifts, depending on one’s position in the space,” says Hancox.
A gently curved exterior blade wall guides one’s approach toward a transformative arrival sphere, signalled by a minimalist white-steel pivot gate. “To build this dialogue, the entry sequence first takes inhabitants away from the view to then reveal the dramatic abundance of the desert,” says Kothke.Comprised of an orthogonal layout, the living realm hunkers into the heart of the plan as an intersection crossing between the northern primary suite and the southern children’s wing, bookended by a desert vista. A large central courtyard embraces this transient domain as a playground for family activity through a strong connection with its ample rocky peripheries. “Providing a centring moment of focus and release, the main courtyard – an echo of Sonoran Desert terrace traditions – holds both the pool and the sky,” notes Hancox of this pivotal dialogue with nature.
Local materials imbue a familiar modesty in the dwelling both inside and out, comprising crisp white plaster walls atop an off-form concrete plinth for passive heating and cooling. An ethereal, delicate quality filters through Real House through distinctly pared-back surfaces, exposing spaces to the limitless hues of the vibrant landscape. “The design constructs with light,” says Kothke. “Paired with a range of calibrated openings, the surfaces of the home are a canvas for the desert sky, and a fitting backdrop for poolside outdoor movies.”Warm timber tones adorn cabinetry throughout, elevated by subdued organic graining akin to the earthen striations of the surrounding vast topography. Reflective surfaces are carefully placed to lengthen and refract, directing one’s attention beyond the immediate enclosure.
Interior detailing is quiet and refined, evoking a minimalist agenda to subvert the eye toward the rugged desert outlook. Modest shadow lines trace the edges of sun-drenched gallery walls, while whisper-thin window frames convey a sense of weightlessness. Rooftop apertures pull daylight and views deep into the abode, deploying artful trickery to cut away the visual clutter of neighbouring residences. “The clients describe the house as a source of calm and delight, where quiet details, changing light and considered views enrich their daily rhythms,” says Hancox. This is a tonal composition derived from the essence of this unique locale – a reinvention of a longstanding vernacular that moves in concert with the seasons.Perched along the banks of a riparian flood plain, the home bestows an intrinsic relationship with water as the lifeblood for its occupants and its ecological surrounds. “At Real House, environmental performance is inseparable from experience, where modern restraint and responsiveness also recall the wisdom of Sonoran traditions,” says Kothke.
Harvested rainwater nourishes curated native vegetation, providing a place for fellow desert inhabitants to drink, eat or find shelter, just inches from curious human observers. Low-lying openings strengthen this relationship by directing the eye toward the ground for museum-like vignettes. The dwelling works in harmony with this enduring natural location, respectful of the arroyo and conscious of the volatile climate that descends upon the hinterlands of Tucson.Enveloped by its desert landscape, Real House is a curated sanctuary of sensory enlightenment. Expansive views are neatly framed, while a permeable outdoor arena is encircled by watercolour skies and hardy plants. This is a potent modern design that stands united with its local context, underpinned by honesty and the revered wisdom of generations that have come before.
Architecture and interior design by HK Associates. Build by LeMarr Construction and Premier Custom Builders.
- 项目文案：André Bankier-Perry
- 项目摄影：Ema Peter
- 转载自：The Local Project
- 图片@The Local Project
- 语言：英语
- 编辑：序赞网
- 阅读原文
|
|
