Scottsdale, AZ (Skyfire)
5,200 s.f.

Skyfire reflects Vernon Swaback's love for the desert, including the extensive use of red/brown canvas, which he first experienced as a tent-dwelling apprentice. While Skyfire is more than a tent, it retains some sense of the vulnerability, exposure and daily dialogue with the elements, including the sound of wind and rain on the canvas, daylighting and an energy-saving, natural system for air conditioning. Its materials include 12” thick concrete walls, exposed wood and concrete floors and the use of copper and steel, both left to patina and weather in their natural state. The home and guesthouse occur on six levels in response to its greatly sloping site.