Photography by Jeff Goldberg, Cade Hayes, and Gabriel Flores, courtesy of Dust.
When a client requested an indoor/outdoor weekend house with separate living and sleeping zones, Tucson, Arizona–based architect Cade Hayes and designer Jesús Robles, founders of Dust, looked to local architectural vernacular for inspiration.
The central hallway is designed to frame views on each end and allow breezes to channel air through the space, and it occasionally plays host to dinners and parties.
There are separate zones on each side of the house: The living zone, shown here, contains the kitchen, dining, and living area. The sleeping zone, across the hall, has two bedrooms and one bathroom.
There are two sources of heat in the house: the fireplace in the living room and a woodstove adjacent to the private spaces.
According to the architects, “Experientially, in the winter, the first thing one thinks of when they wake is fire.” The firewood comes from the property’s emory oak trees.
A live-edge wood bench with canvas pillows and leather throws serves as a sofa. The exterior-facing windows are intentionally small, to minimize heat from the scorching summer sun.
The house is off the grid, so electricity used to power the lights, ceiling fans, and kitchen appliances is all drawn from a small set of nearby solar panels.
The view from the living area through a bank of steel windows toward the private spaces.
The Lavacrete that forms a bedroom wall is 18 inches thick, which helps to keep the house’s interior cool.
Capping the zaguan on each end are bifold metal doors that can be configured in a variety of ways to block or welcome wind and sun.
The doors have leather handles custom designed and made by Dust.
The house sits almost 5,000 feet above sea level in southern Arizona, with views of the San Rafael Valley and the Patagonia Mountains.
The house is hidden in high desert, surrounded by manzanita bushes and emory oak trees.