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Clients Ian and Anne Nowland, young software designers from Cambridge, MA, USA contacted us in May 2020 about building something in Sedona as a quarterly retreat wherein they work remotely three-four months every year, rent as Airbnb in between, eventually becoming their forever home. We reviewed seven sites with them and the sleeper site was initially not for sale but clearly had the most potential with an existing limited footprint between 400-year-old Juniper trees nearest main road thus reducing access drive / site impact between existing trees and existing washes south and east.
Telescoping rows of Junipers iconically framed Cathedral Rock at reverse sunset when deep-red-hematite[rust]-rock grouping comes ever forward against taller white-cliff backdrop of Munds Mountain became IDEA.
Within this small found telescopic footprint (idea) a ground-based telescope steps out toward Cathedral in plan and section within the Junipers while further receding into this high-desert community with 'shadow finishes' of stepped fireproof corten steel cladding outside and within recycled dark-wood interior panels that extend light and view ever-inwards, whilst merging seamlessly at night with this tight-knit 'dark-sky' community.
The buffed and / or lacquered poché of the unconventional plan incorporates ample storage, cabin-like-south-facing bedrooms, and north-facing-non-en-suite bathrooms, between which affords a passing 'zen view'. Concentric panels at floors, doors, walls, ceilings of telescoping hall incrementally step ever-outwards toward ever-changing theater of the landscape.
Telescope House meets sustainability / eco-compatibility with low-environmental-impact strategies that ranged from recommending purchasing an existing 'for-sale-pad' between Junipers against ROW easement / setback maintaining watershed / native vegatation to maximum extent along with idea to 'build small and what you want/need now' in lieu of original Guesthouse/Future Main House program, all borne out of initial-on-site dialogue with our Client. Build small also means low-use of masonry / wood frame materials and labor clad with standard size corten sheets externally and internally with FSC-certified recycled wood-dust panels and 149sqm is heated by a low-emission pellet stove and supplemented / cooled by minimal 3.5-ton heat pump soon powered by Phase II photovoltaic field=3EUI by 2025.
From the outset we utilized simple, straight-forward design strategies across triple bottom line of social, economic and environmental value. This exemplary project is designed as a model home in terms of an environmentally sensitive home that is resonant with its 'place', its bucolic Oak Creek Valley community, its 'dark milky-way sky' community and looks forward into the future designed to meet the 2030 Design Challenge by 2025.
Importantly, it is a sustainable model that is accessible because our Clients understand good design is good business and is in fact designed as a mini-destination-resort that celebrates the one-of-a-kind qualities of this unique part of Arizona for all to enjoy in a way that is neither imported or ubiquitous creating lasting memorable experiences.
Lastly, it is responsibly designed to be maintenance-free with its corten weathering steel cloak, its native site preserved beyond strict construction limits which were thoughtfully revegetated with a carefully selected native seed / plant mix, such that no trace is left except this low-impact, minimal footprint, harmonious addition to the environment.
Our view is that 'the first rule of sustainable design is good design' that people cherish, love and defend as our ultimate goal is a thoughtfully designed, well-crafted, long-life building that will last well past ours and our children's lifetimes because it means something to many, many people across its long life 'as a building' and is designed to do so.
"We wanted a place to periodically visit that would be a big change in scenery form our life on the east coast, so we sought out not only a very different environment, but an architect who would bring vision on how to build a house that really emphasized that environment whenever we visited. We tried to give as much aesthetic control as possible to him, and we think the design really delivered."
Wendell Burnette is a self-taught architect with an internationally recognized body of work. Based in Phoenix for over twenty-eight years, Burnette’s studio is concerned with space, light, context, and community. Originally from Nashville, Burnette discovered the southwest desert as an apprentice at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West. He was a Professor of Practice at Arizona State University for fifteen plus years and teaches and lectures widely in the United States and abroad. His design philosophy is grounded in listening and distilling the essence of a project to create highly specific architecture that is resonant with people, program and place, while being at once functional and poetic. WBA's projects include residences located across US, public libraries, community centers, museums, adaptive reuse, historic preservation, and hospitality (hotels, spas and restaurants) including the much acclaimed Amangiri Resort in southern Utah, as well as other works internationally.
