Belzberg Architects

The Camelback Residence transports residents to a remote¬¬ desert oasis despite its location in a well-populated, suburban neighborhood. The extreme horizontality of this 10,000sqft, single-story house along with its generously landscaped surroundings creates a sense of seclusion and helps mitigate the extreme climate. Our use of raw, elemental materials in a limited palette also aims to hold focus on the natural surroundings. The plan of the five-bedroom project was developed as a series of parallels that align with the view to a key geological feature in the adjacent mountain range. Each line holds its own program element that runs perpendicular to the main circulation spine: the entry, living room and dining room, the children’s wing, the kitchen and family room, and the master suite. This linear language is exaggerated in the corresponding staggered roof planes that cantilever 30 feet from the house and, at their widest, span over 33 feet. The exposed steel beams add significant structural complexity to the house, but greatly reduce direct sun on the glazing, minimizing heat gain and protecting the interior from the harsh desert sun. These cantilevers strike a balance between providing coverage to large outdoor areas, increasing the useable space throughout the year, while maintaining views from inside the building to the nearby mountains. Furthering the horizontality of the house, a one-foot datum is used throughout. The staggered roof creates a series of one-foot-tall clerestories that allow indirect daylight to penetrate the core of the plan while the one-foot deep concrete walls appear to float above low-lying one-foot-tall bands of exterior glazing. In both the upper and lower registers, the lines are elongated further by aligning with seams in the poured concrete. While creating the illusion of weightlessness, these bands enhance the connection between the built environment and natural surroundings.