Situated on the north side of the Phoenix mountain preserve, the O-asis house designed by The Ranch Mine is a new, solar powered home that was designed to harmonise modern life with the timeless beauty of music, sunlight, and desert flora and fauna. This ‘O’ shaped smart home sits on a once neglected and underutilized site, now transformed into a secluded native habitat and respite from city life. Come on in and let’s take a closer look…
“Upon entering the home you are greeted by a central courtyard, a time tested strategy for living in the desert, that brings in indirect natural light, fresh air, and unique plants that function like an art gallery for the homeowners, ever changing with light, shadow, growth and seasons. Pocketing glass doors on either side of the main living space funnel cool breezes through the house while providing a seamless indoor/outdoor flow, transforming the main living areas of the house into a covered open air space in seconds.”
The homeowner is a skillful pianist, so it’s pertinent to the brief that the structure is able to provide fantastic sound quality. The great room features areas of walnut slats backed with acoustic felt to address this concern, allowing the owner to record music and have it played back during the day, accompanying the ever-changing beauty of the courtyard plants. Being a smart home, this house features wireless controls of the lights, speakers, the blinds, the locks, cameras and so on.
Behind the courtyard is a garage with Tesla Powerwall batteries and solar on the roof and an in-law suite which was designed to have its own entrance and outdoor spaces for complete autonomy when desired.
The master suite, hidden in one of the slats wall leading from a pivot door, turns convention on its head by limiting the size of the bedroom to just enough room for the built-in bed. Most of the space was used for the spa inspired bathroom and retail inspired closet.
“O-asis sits low in the desert at just 12.5 feet tall, partially surrounded by a rusted steel rattlesnake fence and finished in white stucco with recessed niches of Ipe wood. Its strong horizontal form was designed as a datum for highlighting the dramatic shapes of the desert landscape. The pool breaks from the ‘O’ shaped plan, drawing you out into the desert towards the mountain views to the south, and is capped by a built-in fire pit bench, a perfect place to catch some sun during the day or lay out under the stars at night.”
The landscape, designed by The Green Room, is an elevated native Sonoran desert plant palate designed to encourage biodiversity for native flora and fauna within a landscape that is always evolving from season to season.
This solar powered oasis in the desert provides a contemporary home for the client while seamlessly blending technology and nature. Another superb house by Phoenix based architecture firm The Ranch Mine!
House Project: O-asis
Architect: The Ranch Mine
Location: Phoenix, Arizona
Type: New Build
Landscape Architect: The Green Room Landscape Design
Builder: Boxwell Homes
Photography: Roehner + Ryan
