Garcia Residence

A tri-terraced arrangement of spaces align axially with the topography of the steep site; while the material palette is simple, durable and responsive to the desert’s climate, colors, and textures.

Project Details

• Project Name: Garcia Residence
• Client: Private
• Project Type: Single family residence
• Principal Designer/s: Ibarra Rosano Design Architects
• Design Team: Luis Ibarra and Teresa Rosano
• Contractor/s: Repp Design + Construction, Inc. (general); Hard Rock Masonry (masonry)
• Date of commencement of project: 2000
• Date of completion of project: House completion: 2001; Pool/courtyard/decks completion: 2003
• Location of site: Tucson, AZ, USA
• Site Area: 96461 sq. ft.
• Built-up Area: 2150 sq. ft.

Gallery separating the public and private areas.

Words from the architect

The site of the Garcia Residence is a steep north facing rocky slope in the foothills of the Tucson Mountains. The challenge was to design a structure that would appear to grow out of the desert hillside without dominating the landscape. To avoid substantial excavation, the resulting form became three narrow terracing platforms (living, circulating, and sleeping) that run parallel to the site contour lines and step up the hillside.

View of gallery from the east side of residence.

The entry gallery located on the middle terrace was conceived of as a "tube-like" space open at each end framing the desert beyond. It is axially aligned with nearby mountain peaks to the west and saguaro views to the east. On the interior the design is organized around the gallery space, connecting the visitor to the bedroom and courtyard level uphill and down to the living, dining and kitchen spaces on the lowest platform. The outstanding city view lead us to break with the house axis; the steps down to the lowest level and the living space are targeted toward a fantastic view of the Tucson city lights and the Catalina Mountains to the northeast by way of a impressive yet unimposing fourteen foot tall window. Southern sun is introduced into the living spaces through a small intimate courtyard positioned between the bedrooms on the upper terrace. The courtyard serves as a sheltered, shaded exterior room with a view up the ridge and a secret garden with brightly painted fuchsia walls and colorful bougainvillea. It invites warm solar rays in the winter, while in the summer it provides passive cooling for the house when the heavier cool air falls down the mountain through open windows in the courtyard into the house and out openings on the lowest level.

The entry to the residence and the gallery beyond.

The resulting compact plan of 2150 sq. ft. is reminiscent of a dramatic loft-like space.

The material palette is simple, durable and responsive to the desert climate, colors and textures, blurring the distinction between interior and exterior. The placement of the walls was very deliberate, designed to allow views in virtually 360 degrees through large window expanses using a commercial storefront window system. The walls are made of Integra® Block, an insulated concrete block wall system, which was sandblasted and used as a finish material in both the interior and exterior. The masonry gives the structure a sense of permanence and strength, while helping to blur the distinction between indoors and out. The simple block volumes are punctuated by vertical and horizontal openings which create interesting compositions of solid and void. Horizontal slices in the walls break masonry corners and frame the panoramic view of the city and Catalina Mountains from the master bedroom and Tucson Mountains in the laundry room. Steel accents and birch wood cabinets throughout the interior provide warmth and richness. The interior is linked by way of steel plate steps zig-zagging between the different floor levels.

Eastern view as seen from the master bedroom entry.

The Garcia Residence celebrates the beauty and sensuality of modest materials, and the belief that with good design, ordinary materials can be extraordinary.

More photographs

The edge of the dwelling meets the desert floor, giving a feeling of shelter and a connection to the land.

The house's alignment to the axis of the site bows to the powerful view of the Catalina Mountains and the city lights.

Intimate courtyard allowing natural light into the gallery.

Situated between bedrooms, the courtyard becomes a source of natural southern light.

A view captured from the front door. Simple gestures framing spaces in the desert. Elementary structures defining extraordinary places.

The living room window brings the outside in.

A dining room shares space with the kitchen on the lower level.

The master bathroom features custom cabinetry and stainless counters with integral sinks.

The pool continues the main axis of the gallery out into the landscape.

Credits

• Text: courtesy of the architect
• Photographs by Bill Timmerman, courtesy of the architect