Essence of the Desert House / AU Design Studio

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Text description provided by the architects. Amit Upadhye of AU Design Studio designed a house in the desert, capturing the essence of the native climate to create a dwelling sensitive to the phenomenological aspects of living within the desert. Memories and visions of boulders and shadows in the desert were borrowed in the formation of the project. It was through these borrowed moments of the desert that brought the concepts of micro-climates and desert living to the Essence of the Desert House. Through these observed micro-climates in the desert it was visible that life thrived, even within the harshest environments. These micro-climates act as heat sinks and as thermal masses. The Native Americans were aware of this phenomenon, often building homes in the shadows of such boulders. It is through this challenging and yet engaging nature of the Sonoran Desert that allows for meaningful and poetic dialogue between place and built environment, creating opportunities for natural phenomena to be translated into meaningful architecture rooted in the nature and essence of the desert.