Architects, Architecture Firms, & Building Designers Near Phoenix

Client Brief: A developer asked for a home with Arcadia character, elevated and refined. Natural light and generous shade were priorities. A courtyard would create privacy from the busy adjacent street. The plan needed to support everyday living and effortless entertaining. Location: In Phoenix’s Arcadia neighborhood, the lot balances public edge and private retreat. Views and light are captured selectively, with the courtyard screening the busier street. Design Solution: We arranged the home as a set of gabled pavilions linked by a continuous porch. Slim steel columns and a warm wood soffit form a clear shade line. A linear pool creates a water court, set parallel to the great room and aligned on axis with the den, with a detached casita anchoring the far end. Openings are precise, framing mountains and palms while screening the street. The courtyard concentrates outdoor life in a private zone. Two gable terminations distinguish the volumes, the main house with an open shingle rake for a crisp shadow line, and the casita with a stucco-wrapped rake, a parapet-like finish that reads monolithic. Result: Winnow filters sun, breeze, and view into a calm compound tuned to Arcadia living. Shade organizes movement, water centers gatherings, and the gable sequence gives the house a steady rhythm. The plan stays clear and flexible for daily routines, then opens to the court for hosting. The detached casita completes the ensemble, offering a quiet guest or studio space at the end of the water.

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Epic in size and scope yet intimate in ambiance and style, STRATA is a private family retreat that epitomizes modernist design in the scenic Sonoran Desert. STRATA came about when three masters of their craft—the architect, interior designer and builder—collaborated on a contemporary estate for a couple looking to build a home for entertaining family and friends that would also serve their personal needs without overwhelming them. STRATA, it seems, lives both big and small. Designed on 250 acres on the outskirts of Phoenix, the residence comprises four buildings—the primary residence, a multi-car garage, a game arcade, and an exercise/manager’s suite. The overall essence of the structures, horizontal in nature, complements the sprawling mountain ranges in the distance. The owners wanted contemporary, but they also wanted their home to be elegant and organic. A restrained materials palette used consistently throughout includes stucco, SIREWALL (rammed earth), mill-scale fascia, glass, concrete (flooring) and wood (ceilings), providing continuity without being overly complex. To keep the 70,000-square-foot estate from feeling too overwhelming, C.P. Drewett created pavilion-like spaces where the owners could live easily when alone. Examples include a two-car garage that leads to the kitchen; a cozy sitting room; and the primary suite, all of which feel nestled in, making one side of the residence feel like an elegant New York City apartment. Amenities throughout the compound are noteworthy. A showcase garage houses an enviable collection of classic cars. Guest suites with private sitting areas open to intimate patio spaces. A wellness center offers a fully equipped gym, a Himalayan salt room, and a massage therapy area. And in the arcade, it’s all about entertainment, with shuffleboard, ping-pong, billiards, a custom poker table, a bar and a wine room. Outdoors, zenlike water features surrounded by indigenous desert greenery create a serene ambiance, with splashes of color appearing throughout the year. The overall look is fresh, welcoming and regionally appropriate. In January 2023, Drewett Works’ first book, STRATA a desert dwelling (Oscar Riera Ojeda Publishers), was published. Filled with vivid imagery by photographer Werner Segarra, informative text, and detailed drawings, the 268-page hardcover book offers an in-depth look into the makings of this extraordinary home. Project Details//STRATA—a desert dwelling Location: Phoenix, Ariz. Architecture: Drewett Works Builder: Desert Star Construction Interiors: David Michael Miller Associates Landscape designer: Berghoff Design Group Photography: Werner Segarra Videography: Phoenix Drone Service Recognition ICONIC LIFE/2023 Luxe Regional RED Award/2023 Luxe Red Awards/2023 Luxe Interiors + Design/Sept-Oct 2022 Southwest Style/2023

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In 2020 we received a very unusual project inquiry, a first in our firm's history. The scope of the inquiry was not unusual, a new modern home to replace the ranch house in the Arcadia neighborhood in Phoenix, Arizona they had outgrown while having 3 children over the past 8 years. The unusual part was the request for it to be a surprise for the homeowner’s wife, after the couple had started and stopped twice with other professionals. This seemed risky but the gamble paid off as the surprise was met with excitement and the family finally achieved the dream home they had always wanted but were never able to accomplish, a 2 story, multigenerational contemporary family home fitting of their personalities and lifestyle. The property consists of a main house for the family and wheelchair accessible guest house for the grandparents. Conceptually the main house was designed with black, brick volumes with pocketing and sliding glass doors that open out to the front and back yards on the 1st floor and a white, stucco box 2nd floor sitting on top. Wood was used to highlight the opening of the home, the front door and the pocketing glass doors to the front and back yard. The 1st floor contains the main living spaces, primary suite, guest bedroom and gym while the 2nd floor contains all of the kid’s bedrooms, den, homework area, and laundry room. The detached guest house anchors the east side of the backyard, creating a courtyard around the existing pool that was saved.

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