Stephen Sullivan Designs was commissioned to design a new home in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona, the iconic landscape of the American West. Sited on a wash at the edge of the McDowell Mountains, there is an element of wildness in the air.

The design intends to connote simplicity and tranquility, by means of a pared-down vocabulary of simple forms in a harmonic relationship to the site. With its long desert views to distant mountains in the South, the Ryatta Wash protected area to the East, and Pinnacle Peak punctuating the North horizon, this house is deeply embedded in the experience of place.

The courtyard centers the form of the house, which is comprised of simple cubic volumes, recalling the image of ancient dwellings of the desert. The courtyard is the reference point of the house, creating a sense of orientation. Holding a tree and a rill of water, the courtyard offers the experience of arrival in a serene oasis marked by shade and the sound of water.