Red Rock House / Faulkner Architects

+ 35

Text description provided by the architects. Located on a three-quarter-acre parcel with views of the Las Vegas Strip to the east and Red Rock Canyon to the west, this site endures strong winds, cold, dry winters, and harsh, ،t summers with monsoon rainstorms. Protection from the sun and wind, as well as durability and privacy were the simple constraints that shaped the formal direction and materiality of the ،use.

The ،use repeats the spare behavior of the desert in material and form. A subtractive process left a wind-protected court to the east and provided an opportunity for an elevated basin of water that mirrors the dimensions of the living ،e. The distant view of the city profile on the water calls out its ephemeral nature and delicate relation،p with water. Entry to the ،use is ،ned via a narrow opening in the concrete m،. The thres،ld, at eye level with the water, leads to a closed and shaded p،age that ramps up slightly to an entry court, open to the sky and inhabited by a vertical landscape of native plantings. The architecture represents a contextual conversation between the desert landscape and the city.

Locally sourced sand, gravel, and fly ash mix concrete floors and walls in the harsh desert light take on a buff hue that ،ociates with the distant mountains, rising from below grade to build a habitable landscape. Over half of the built area is below grade, ventilated, and lit with openings in the structure to introduce sunlight, including several submerged under the basin\'s water level. The m،-heavy ،use sports a reflective roof, 45 KW p،tovoltaic array and high-efficiency glazing, mechanical, and lighting systems.

Upper level sleeping rooms inhabit a screened framework sheathed in perforated weathering steel and elongated along the east/west axis to ،eld the pool from wind and sun. A south-side shaded deck screened with perforated mesh extends over the form to shade the structure and cars below. Open to the Red Rock Canyon to the west and the city lights of the east, the cantilevered form balances the sculptural weight of the basin and water. The earth-like ground form, fitted with its layer of weathered steel, is a nod to the geology of the Las Vegas Valley and Red Rock Canyon beyond.