Atalaya Shelter / Jaime Inostroza

Atalaya Shelter / Jaime Inostroza - BeamAtalaya Shelter / Jaime Inostroza - Image 3 of 27Atalaya Shelter / Jaime Inostroza - BeamAtalaya Shelter / Jaime Inostroza - Image 5 of 27Atalaya Shelter / Jaime Inostroza - More Images+ 22

  • Manufacturer: Jaime Inostroza
  • Construction Manager: Jaime Inostroza
  • Collaborators: Lorraine Etchell, Jan Sobotoka, Giblert Rey, Conor Deniston, Nelson Schleiff, Alejandra Henriquez, Michael Derutte, Peter Haberkorn, Xinxuan Liu
  • Campus: The school of architecture at Taliesin
  • Design Team: Jaime Inostroza
  • City: Scottsdale
  • Country: United States
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Atalaya Shelter / Jaime Inostroza - Forest
© Andrew Pielage

Text description provided by the architects. To Dwell in the Shadow of the Trees of the Sonora Desert

It was in March of 2016 when I start to talk with my mentor Aaron Betsky about the idea of the shelter. In that meeting Aaron asked me some fundamental questions for the shelter:

Atalaya Shelter / Jaime Inostroza - Forest
© Andrew Pielage
Idea sketch
Atalaya Shelter / Jaime Inostroza - Image 5 of 27
© Andrew Pielage

-Find a site
-What does this site wants to be?
-How do I want to be in this site?
-How does my design reflect what I have learned as a student at Taliesin?
-What makes this site part of Taliesin?
-What will the site be after I gone?

Site plan

These questions were crucial for me in understanding the Taliesin territory and to develop a principle in architecture, an architectural observation that could respond to the landscape of the Sonora desert. I was walking through desert when I found my fellow student, Carl Kohut. He told me about a beautiful site and showed it to me. We walked along a path that I never I had never seen. Everything was new for me and then suddenly I saw the place a new. Immediately I knew that this was the right site.

Atalaya Shelter / Jaime Inostroza - Beam
© Andrew Pielage

It was like secret place hidden in the wash, covered by the shadows of the trees and looking out at the wash and the desert. The entrance to the site is shaped by the Alameda of Palos Verdes. This creates the aperture to the site and at sunset the site becomes a distiller of the light. The mountains are now with purple in color. The landscape is an opera of colors.

exploded axonometric

From that observation of the site my principle was to develop an entrance procession that would let me dwell within the horizon of the Alameda of the Palos Verdes. Because of that the name of the project is “Atalaya,” which means crow nest. It is the highest point from the boat where you can see the horizon across the ocean. I used the existing concrete pad like a plinth that holds this structure and continued the procession with a combination wall- stair. The shelter will be covered with fabric panels that will amplify the colors of the desert.

Atalaya Shelter / Jaime Inostroza - Beam
© Andrew Pielage

As young architect Taliesin is a great laboratory where you can test principles in architecture. To design and build, the logistics, the schedule, the materials, the landscape - all these factors are crucial to understand how the architect can manage the task of architecture. For me it is a privilege to continue the legacy of learning by doing at Taliesin.

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Project location

Address:Scottsdale, AZ, United States

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Location to be used only as a reference. It could indicate city/country but not exact address.
About this office
Cite: "Atalaya Shelter / Jaime Inostroza" 10 May 2017. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/870957/atalaya-shelter-jaime-inostroza> ISSN 0719-8884

© Andrew Pielage

沙漠的“自然剧场” / Jaime Inostroza

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