lightHOUSE

Design Over Time

lightHOUSE is a renovation of a 1958 modern home in the Catalina foothills. The design concept was to reveal affinities between old and new, and inside and outside, through light, material, and attention to detail.

The renovation took the house back to its bones - posts and beams that recall the Case Study houses of California - black concrete floors, and adobe brick perimeter walls that reference the Sonoran Desert's earth constructions.

Upon the completion of lightHOUSE, the clients were interested in continuing to evolve the design to accommodate their growing family and to integrate amenities of 21st century living: a casual media room, home office, gym, and flex space for their two boys.

A discrete addition expands the house footprint to serve these needs. bridging eras, the addition seamlessly harmonizes with the minimal lightHOUSE palette: a play of proportion, light, and material.

After we completed the comprehensive lightHOUSE renovations, the clients were interested in evolving the design to include a stand-alone retreat, set away from the main house as a dedicated private space that could accommodate guests and extended family. Beyond space and privacy needs, a primary goal was for this retreat to craft an intimate connection with the surrounding desert that was distinct from the aesthetic and experience of the original home.

As a solution to this challenge, casita OBSCURA offers a paradox: a bold, autonomous design that hides in plain sight. Conceived as a bold yet discrete amenity, casita OBSCURA enhances the connection of an existing mid-century modern home to its Sonoran Desert setting. casita OBSCURA is both a backdrop and a hideaway, foregrounding the surrounding landscape and vegetation and underlining the distant horizon.

Awards:
Component Design Honor Award - AIA Arizona
Component Design Honor Award - AIA Southern Arizona
Distinguished Architecture Honor Award - AIA Southern Arizona
Home of the Year Interior Architecture - AIA Southern Arizona

^{photos: Ema Peter Photography}