HK Associates

ventana house

Nestled at the base of the Catalina mountains, Ventana House is a window on the desert. The two-story form rises from its mountainside setting like a geological outcropping, a rugged exterior shaped from within by openings that afford panoramic views. Like a geode, the light-filled and refined interior is a contrast and a surprise. The main living spaces of the home are located above the desert floor, simultaneously connecting the home's inhabitants to a foreground of saguaro forest and the distant horizon.

The initial conception of the home was shaped during an early visit to the native site with the client. The picturesque natural character of the site was unmistakable. Less obvious was the opportunity for prospect, which revealed itself upon us climbing a large mesquite tree to gain access to potential views. It was from this perch that the sequence and organization of the home became clear. The heart of the home as realized - the kitchen - occupies the prospect of the mesquite that we'd climbed together.

Experientially, the interior of the home reveals itself as a series of discretely carved volumes proportioned in relationship to exterior apertures. The spatial dialog between interior volume and exterior form unfolds in a cinematic montage that complements the picture-window views. Furthermore, the carved exterior form of the home creates deep shadows, protecting the inhabitants from the harsh desert sun. Large sliding doors connect the interior of the home to shaded terraces, facilitating cross ventilation at times of intense heat, minimizing the need for mechanical cooling, and offering further connection with the natural environment.

The entry sequence into the home begins at a notched erosion in the exterior massing. Movement is reoriented up a sculptural stair that occupies a double-height skylit gallery. The threshold at this moment of vertical ascension is further defined by a bridge that passes overhead. Clad in steel perforated panels, the bridge filters light from above and offers glimpses of experiences to come. 

Upon arrival at the main living space of the home, the form of the interior volume adjusts again, marked by a sloped ceiling that echoes the silhouettes of the distant foothills. Clad in alder panels, the ceiling becomes an organizing datum, mapping activities and interactions below: dining, cooking, conversing, and relaxing. Minimally detailed cabinet elements further inform inhabitation, acting as a subtle backdrop to the main feature: daily life in a desert oasis.

The shared experience of the main living space is complemented by private moments for the home's inhabitants, with bedrooms and studies tucked away, each with their own unique aspect ratio, each inviting a personal narrative.

The experiential effect of Ventana House combines picturesque vignettes with cinematic movement, rooted in a direct response and connection to the desert landscape and environment.  


barrio historico house

Located in Tucson’s Barrio Historico, this residence is a modern interpretation of the neighborhood’s traditional courtyard architecture. From the street, the house is anonymous, fitting into the Barrio context with façade proportions and door and window openings in keeping with neighborhood guidelines. The interior of the house is something very different: a contemplative courtyard experience focused on the sky and a swimming pool that fosters a year round connection between the home’s interior and exterior spaces. The house contains an additional surprise: a long rooftop periscope over the kitchen draws the view of the distant mountain vista into the interior of the house where it appears as if looking through a broad window. This experience of the interplay of framed views and reflections is repeated in more subtle ways throughout the house, capturing the intimacy of the courtyard and its landscaping as well as the ever-changing Sonoran desert sky.

canyon house

Emerging from the desert, Canyon House is equal parts landform and a mechanism for viewing.

Stoic on the exterior, Canyon House blurs the boundary between inside and out, imprinting the exterior environment onto the interior of the home: revealing life as a series of moments, vistas and reflections.


Sited to frame the Catalina Mountains to the north and the Tucson Mountains to the southwest, the over-riding intent was for the clients to live "in the view" - sensory immersion being the driving concept and effect of the architecture. 


The manifestation of the immersive experience is the canyon-like living space at the center of the home. Flanked on the east and west by the service and bedroom wings, and looking north and south, "the canyon" is also defined by a horizontal datum. Below this seven foot datum, life is organized; above, the interior of the home reaches up to ephemera in the form of a "clerestory" surface.

At the window walls, the panels above the datum afford mountain-top views, while the side wall clerestory captures oblique reflections that shift as the occupants move throughout the house. The effect is for distant panoramas to enter and wrap the interior of the home.


Aural sensations within the canyon are likewise affected by an acoustic "cloud" that floats above, creating a serene environment for conversation and contemplation. The cloud collects and organizes artificial lights that become a constellation of stars, reflected in the clerestory, as day turns to night.


Thresholds from the canyon to the wings of the home shift attention away from the sweeping vistas, towards intimate spaces and individual moments.


Canyon House engages perceptions through constructed ambiguities and reflected likenesses, attempting to reveal a reality beyond our senses.

courtyards house

Situated in a nondescript subdivision on Tucson’s eastside, the Courtyards House is a desert minimalist reinvention of residential suburban inhabitation. 

Conceived as a series of interlocking interior and exterior volumes, the living spaces of the home contain, or are contained by six individual courtyards. Spatial boundaries are defined, yet fluid, with light, views and access flowing from one part of the home to the next. Each courtyard is distinctly xeriscaped with southern Arizona specimens, providing moments of focus and release – foreground and middle ground lend themselves to background and the distant mountain views beyond. 

The courtyards, and the boundaries they define, also serve a programmatic role: to “zone” the house for the clients’ eleven rescue cats. Feline accommodation extends to the design of cabinetry, which incorporates a variety of hiding and play spaces. 

The Courtyards House also serves as a gallery for the clients’ collection of paintings and photographs by Tucson artists. In many cases, the colors and compositions of the individual art pieces are complimented by the adjacent xeriscapes, or through the home’s architectural play of light-and-shadow. The white interior and exterior walls act as a canvas for registering temporal atmospheres – the subtleties and contrasts imbued by the desert sky throughout the day and night.

AIA Southern Arizona 2016 Honor Award for Distinguished Architecture

General Contractor: Lemarr Construction

lightHOUSE

lightHOUSE is a renovation of a 1958 Edward Nelson, FAIA, modernist home in the Catalina Foothills. The design concept was to reveal affinities between old and new, and inside and outside, through light, material, and attention to detail. The renovation took the house back to its bones - Douglas Fir posts and beams that recall the Case Study houses of California - black concrete floors, and brick perimeter walls that reference the Sonoran desert's earthen constructions.


With a minimalist eye, the kitchen and master bedroom suite of lightHOUSE were completely re-conceived, along with the bathrooms, while the balance of the home was rejuvenated through material touches in support of the whole, all in an effort to manifest the latent dynamism in the 1964 design and to bring forward new delights.


The pool, exterior terraces, and plantings were also revisited to connect the home to the surrounding panorama of city and mountain views 


lightHOUSE emits light and it draws-in light, just as it is an aperture for viewing out and for viewing in - a framework of personal experiential vignettes, while simultaneously expanding shared, cinematic horizons.




finger rock house

Located in the foothills of the Santa Catalina mountain range, the Finger Rock residence is named for its view of one of Tucson’s most prominent natural landmarks. 

The concept and layout of the house are a direct response to its desert setting and panoramic views. The Living Room, Kitchen and Dining Room occupy the second floor and are connected to terraces that offer vistas of the north, south and east horizons, while a narrow horizontal window on the west facade captures evening sunsets. 

The Master and Guest Bedrooms, as well as a Gym and Office are located at ground level, offering intimate views and a direct connection to the desert floor. The structure of the house reinforces this conceptual order, with the airy glass and steel frame of the second story supported by a masonry base that rises directly from the ground. 

The roof plane of the second story cantilevers and folds down strategically to reinforce the panoramic views of the mountains and city while providing shelter from the sun.



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