[gallery order="DESC" columns="5"]



IT COMES TO READING stories about high-end modern homes, you tend to run into the same phrases—“blending indoors and outdoors,” “buildings set gently on the site,” “forms that complement the surroundings.” These qualities are all part of the Bridge House—as the architects call it—in Lost Canyon, an area of North Scottsdale, Ariz. But this home has one thing many of the others do not—a physical and visual experience meant to mimic an actual walk through the desert...







“Everything in this house is revealed in layers,” says Bridge’s lead designer Jon Heilman, with Allen + Philp Architecture in Scottsdale. “As you walk through, you get glimpses into what’s beyond, whether that’s a rock wall, view to the desert, or another room – it’s all about experience,” he says. And that experience is all about refinement and design. Heilman’s been designing with Allen + Philp for over 20 years, so he’s worked on dozens of homes with dozens of client types, but this particular collaboration was a dream come true. The homeowners found their architects through their already hired interior designer, David Michael Miller—a designer known for a clean, minimalist style that’s more about texture and quality, rather than ornamentation and accessories. Working on the landscape was Steve Martino & Associates, who’s task was less about replanting a new desert scene and more about regenerating whatever unscathed desert remained after the home was built – which fortunately was quite a bit.



The home’s layout is fairly simple—one side meant for entertaining, and one side meant for privacy. “The pavilion side is lifted off the desert fl oor, leaving much of the original landscape undisturbed,” but the side where they live is buried into the ground. The main excavation point became a bridge between the two areas, and that bridge became the stunning design element that gave the home its name.



Some materials were chosen for their ability to change over time and weather the harsh desert elements, but all were chosen to complement the natural surroundings. Mill finished steel panels were chosen to show rust and look aged, while massive stone walls make the home look as if it has grown out of the desert fl oor. Sutter Masonry placed these locally sourced rocks to masonry block, resulting in two-foot-thick walls that make the interiors feel like actual desert passageways.



Narrow clerestory windows are tucked against the stone walls, higher than the ceiling planes in some areas. This design trick allows daylight to cascade down the rock from a point that’s above the ceiling – not only letting natural light illuminate the interior, but keeping direct sunlight at bay. Heilman’s favorite spots in the home are points where the structure is sunk into the earth but looking up through a high window reveals a mountain peak – particularly in the master bathroom shower because, “you have this great view in total privacy, and it’s a view that will never be encumbered by neighboring houses … ever,” he says.



Why is Heilman so concerned with finding views that will never change? Because there is one more quality this house has that many of the other modern masterpieces do not—full-time inhabitants. “The homeowners are locals,” he says. “It’s nice to see a home of this stature lived in year-round.”







By David Tyda