Build a Mansion Full of Challenges by Kendle Design Collaborative

This is Monk's Shadow stay situated in Paradise Valley, Arizona. Designed by Kendle Design Collaborative, this house became the answer to a pragmatic response to a challenging site. Why challenging? Because these homes should be built on narrow lots with 60 'vertical elevation combined with limited Hillside Zoning Ordinance. It seems impossible to build on it. But with creative design ideas from Kendle Design Collaborative, Monk's Shadow into a luxury home in dry and hilly location.

The house is divided into three main rooms;

1. Parents zone including the main bedroom, main family and entertainment functions
2. Teen zone including a bedroom, game room, swimming pool access and one of two garages
3. Guest zone includes a bed / bathroom and a large space that serves as a small home office owners.
   

Zoning is a narrow staircase step sites so that each zone has ordered the mountain landscape that embraces them, the floor of the valley and distant mountains.

This homeowner wanted to make their homes become infinite with the surrounding. They want to get up every morning and saw the monk without leaving their beds. Many more decisions will be based on the views of the Praying Monk, including a slot for an art gallery window to let 6'-6 "residents to see Monk as they past through their art collection, a view into Monk when they lay in the pool or flipping burgers at the BBQ just to name a few. They also want every guest to have Monk into their final appearance before leaving the property.

This relationship with Monk, and more importantly specific location, be very valuable in the design of the house. Owner understands where the shadows of the surrounding mountains fall throughout the year allows the best placement for the pool. They understand that even during the hottest months of the year that at some point in the night air temperature at the top of the mountain would come down and wind cooling will fall down the mountain on their site. They understand that many of the surrounding mountains blocked the lower sun angle at the end of the day and provide the most amazing sunsets.

As a result the house is designed to breath - to channel natural air flow through the house allows the house to be enjoyed without a lot of mechanical air conditioning throughout the year. Placement of the "secret garden" further adds a cooling effect, cooling the air before it is pulled through the main room of the house.

The "Secret Garden". House is approached through the courts rather formal car, with no views into or through the house. This gives the owner of the greenhouse is mostly a large degree of privacy. After a journey through more than the size of frosted glass door pivot guests will be greeted by a linear gallery space with a completely transparent facade facing the Secret Garden, a lush oasis in the desert which consists of appropriate planting colorful desert that is soft along with the use of wise from the grass. The peat, kept to a minimum, act as a soft extension of interior floor area - the terrace of grass, so to speak. This peat and water used to feed it, along with other plantings chosen for their ability to hold water, cold winds will actively approach them before it pulled like a horizontal chimney through the house.

Like many celebrated my project roof and articulated to form a pavilion, protecting the interior and exterior spaces below and give them a space of freedom to take what ever they dictate the shape function with out interference from the supporting columns and walls. Roof form direct response to the views, raised to capture the look of the mountain and reach out to make the eyes out with a view to the north Valley. Butterfly shape also serves to direct the precious rain water for watering of landscaping complement the surrounding xeriscape.

The roof deck to form the lowest level of the main community / family level. This deck is divided in the kitchen and dining deck bridge to the main living area. All the material chosen to be in harmony with the natural surroundings. Hard landscape, including concrete pavers on the deck, resembling a desert floor finish and color of nature. Copper accents weather to praise the natural patina of iron-rich strata found in the surrounding rock formations. Integral colored plaster troweled hard synthetic color to compliment traditional creosote, Palo Verde, mesquite and ironwood found on the site.

Sustainable features include low-e glazing throughout, designated climate control system of high efficiency, need adequate lighting to reduce electric lighting, expanded cell foam insulation provides exceptional r-value and air infiltration is reduced and acoustic benefits, need to reduce cross-ventilation air to conditioning mechanics, mechanical and hung windows deep shade to shade and protect the openings, exposed concrete floor to reduce floor coverings and adhesives, and xeriscape landscaping is designed to help cool the interior.

The result is a house that is not like a lot more attention grabbing quiet neighborhood located in its natural setting, intertwined with nature, only reveal the most precious gift for their lives in and they were lucky enough to be their guest.