HOUSE IN THE HIGH DESERT

Description

Already with a vision of his future home, a photographer searched far and wide for a majestic environment with vast natural vistas to make his imagination a reality. After ten years of traversing mountains and hills, he found the perfect site. His ideal home included both a living and working space connected by a display gallery. Additionally, the house was to consist of simple shapes and construction and with little long term maintenance requirements. The site is located on the Eastern edge of the Sierra Nevada range, its preeminent allure being the magnificent panoramas from a high desert terrain of rugged topography and the striking rock outcrops among sage brush.

The live part will house the photographer, his family, and house guests. The work part is a photography studio with exhibit gallery for his work and art collection. The program functions are physically delineated into serial modules with interposing trellised courtyards and linked by “bridges.” The resulting long and narrow structure optimizes the dramatic views ranging from the mountain backdrop above the site to Reno city lights below.

From the studio to the gallery to the living spaces, each room “connects” to the environment on two or more sides with light, ventilation and views through windows and glass doors. The relationship to the outdoors is especially strong in living, dining, and kitchen module which is wrapped on three sides by a south-facing terrace with a lap pool accessed through a series of wide sliding glass doors. Sustainability is integral to every aspect of the building’s design—from siting based on solar orientation with integrated landscaping to naturally weathering materials to active energy generation in the forms of photo-voltaic panels and geothermal wells.

Details

Location Reno, NV
Year 2017
Size 8, 377 square feet

Team

Client Lee and Sharon Saloutos
Architect Marcy Wong Donn Logan Architects
General Contractor Doherty Construction
Solar Energy Consultant Simple Power Solar
Hydrologist Balance Hydrologics
Structural Engineer Gregory P. Luth & Associates, Inc.
Mechanical Engineer Aspen Engineering
Electrical Engineer Jensen Engineers
Civil Engineer Summit Engineering
Geotechnical Engineer Summit Engineering
Septic System Engineer Summit Engineering
Gabion Wall Engineer SHN Engineers
Fire Protection Engineer Overhead Fire Protection, Inc.
Water Purification Engineer Truckee Meadows Water Systems, Inc.
Gabion Wall Designer Hilfiker Retaining Walls
Pool Designer Watershape Consulting, Inc.
Fireplace Designer CF+D Custom Fireplace + Design
Well Designer Bruce MacKay Pump & Well Service
Lighting Designer Architecture + Light
Photographer Lee Saloutos