The project was a continuation of the Taliesin Shelter project. Having designed a small shelter for a midwestern, temperate location, we were now tasked with adapting and adjusting the project for a 2500-sqft, single-family home on mountainous desert site outside of Prescott, Arizona.

While the shelter was an homage to the Farnworth House, the Kirkland project was an inversion of it. Exposure is controlled to protect the inhabitants from the desert sun. A ramada system filters sunlight through the courtyard and public spaces, while thick rammed-earth walls absorb the sun's heat and disperses it during the colder nights. A set of operable shutters on the front facade controls sun exposure throughout the day and the seasons.