Project: Canopy House
Architects: Rob Paulus Architects
Location: Tucson, Arizona, USA
Area: 4,500 sf
Photographs by: Cooperthwaite Photography + Productions
Canopy House by Rob Paulus Architects
Rob Paulus Architects, a Tucson-based studio previously featured on our site in our article showcasing the Diamond Head Mountain House, has appeared in our spotlight once again. This time, we’ve stumbled upon their Canopy House project in Tucson, Arizona.
It is a 4,500 square foot home that has received a new design by this studio for a physician and author who wanted to have a larger home. A few walls-taken-down later, this is the result.
This renovation for a physician and author opens the house up in plan and section to embrace the lush landscape of its desert site while improving the flow and experience of the property. New forms are crisp and clean to contrast with the heavy and rounded vocabulary of the existing building.
Using a reductive approach on the interior, walls are taken down to provide better function, circulation and views. On the exterior, an existing trellis porch is transformed into an outdoor living room and kitchen with a new raised canopy. This 20 x 40 foot rectangle of wood and steel lifts up and over the existing house to provide more light and views to the lush courtyard oasis and big, blue sky of the Sonoran Desert.
A natural material and color palette dominates the new scheme with an emphasis on Douglas Fir wood that was influenced by the clients desire to create nature inspired spaces. This warm wood is used on all interior cabinetry but also appears on the exterior as the underside of the roof plane that hovers over the outdoor living area. The existing closed in house is transformed to engage the outdoors while creating calming interior space in a decidedly modern overhaul.
