Houzz Tour: Sunshine Streams Into a Canadian Home
A Tucson design firm creates a light-filled house in a northerly climate
For many years, this Canadian couple spent winter vacations in the sunshine of southern Arizona, and even planned to build a desert house there, designed for them by Tucson architect Teresa Rosano and designer Luis Ibarra. They never built that house, but the couple forged a friendship with Ibarra and Rosano and continued to admire their spare, modernist approach to architecture. When it came time for the couple to move, they chose to build on the empty lot they owned next door to their home in Edmonton, Alberta. They once again turned to Rosano and Ibarra, asking them to adapt their pared-down desert design aesthetic for a northerly climate.
Ibarra and Rosano created three distinct sections, or volumes, for the home, which form a stepped-back facade that matches the scale of the neighborhood’s existing homes.
The single-story area to the left includes the kitchen, dining and living area, while the volume on the right includes the garage and master suite on the first level and two guest bedrooms upstairs.
The two-story central structure is the home’s spine and includes the entry and a staircase to the basement and upper bedrooms.
“The central volume is the core of the house,” Rosano says. “With its windows front and back, and a clerestory that runs the width of the house, it acts like a light reflector to bounce light into the interior.”
The single-story area to the left includes the kitchen, dining and living area, while the volume on the right includes the garage and master suite on the first level and two guest bedrooms upstairs.
The two-story central structure is the home’s spine and includes the entry and a staircase to the basement and upper bedrooms.
“The central volume is the core of the house,” Rosano says. “With its windows front and back, and a clerestory that runs the width of the house, it acts like a light reflector to bounce light into the interior.”
Weathered steel covers the entry area and was used for the garage doors as well. The team did the rest of the house in a sand-hued, integrally colored stucco.
To avoid framing views of the house across the street, the design team placed windows on the corners of the left side of the house, focusing views from inside on the landscape and the property’s mature spruce trees.
The design team and homeowners worked with local landscape designer Adele Goodwin to create the garden, which includes blue oat grass and white hydrangeas near the entrance.
The metal channel on the right drains rainwater from the side of the house to the street.
Sconces: LumenArt; more outdoor lighting options
See how to get your outdoor lighting right
To avoid framing views of the house across the street, the design team placed windows on the corners of the left side of the house, focusing views from inside on the landscape and the property’s mature spruce trees.
The design team and homeowners worked with local landscape designer Adele Goodwin to create the garden, which includes blue oat grass and white hydrangeas near the entrance.
The metal channel on the right drains rainwater from the side of the house to the street.
Sconces: LumenArt; more outdoor lighting options
See how to get your outdoor lighting right
In the entry, the clerestory and other windows flood the interior with natural daylight, an important design element for the homeowners, who wanted to bring a bit of Arizona sunshine to their Canadian home.
The floating staircase, which leads down to the basement and up to the guest bedrooms, is a sculptural element made of oak treads, cables and a steel railing.
The oak credenza and bench are custom designs crafted by Jillian Builders.
Credenza countertop: Caesarstone
The floating staircase, which leads down to the basement and up to the guest bedrooms, is a sculptural element made of oak treads, cables and a steel railing.
The oak credenza and bench are custom designs crafted by Jillian Builders.
Credenza countertop: Caesarstone
The homeowners worked with Tucson artist Dawn Renee to create the LED-illuminated raku ceramic chandelier that greets visitors at the front door.
The painting above the credenza is by Quebec artist Christian Bergeron.
Scored concrete flooring throughout the house fulfilled the owners’ desire for easy-maintenance materials and is imbedded with a radiant heat system.
Is radiant heating right for you?
The painting above the credenza is by Quebec artist Christian Bergeron.
Scored concrete flooring throughout the house fulfilled the owners’ desire for easy-maintenance materials and is imbedded with a radiant heat system.
Is radiant heating right for you?
Viewed from a hallway leading to the master suite, the suspended stair landing becomes apparent.
On the right, the living room fireplace volume is covered in weathered metal. The black band is the heat vent, circulating warmth to the surrounding spaces.
Metalwork: Marl Technologies
On the right, the living room fireplace volume is covered in weathered metal. The black band is the heat vent, circulating warmth to the surrounding spaces.
Metalwork: Marl Technologies
The owners worked with the design team to pick modern furnishings and classic pieces for the interior. The neutral palette keeps the focus on the artwork and garden views.
The custom credenza against the stairs stores dishes and linens for the adjacent dining area. It also houses a pop-up television that disappears when not in use.
Sofa, chairs and side table: B&B Italia; Noguchi coffee table: Le Belle Arti; area rug: Design Within Reach
The custom credenza against the stairs stores dishes and linens for the adjacent dining area. It also houses a pop-up television that disappears when not in use.
Sofa, chairs and side table: B&B Italia; Noguchi coffee table: Le Belle Arti; area rug: Design Within Reach
Viewed from the kitchen, the first floor open plan includes the living and dining areas.
Troughs in the ceiling tuck in track lighting.
The floor lamp is a custom design made from the husband’s old surveying instrument.
Dining chairs: Le Belle Arti
Troughs in the ceiling tuck in track lighting.
The floor lamp is a custom design made from the husband’s old surveying instrument.
Dining chairs: Le Belle Arti
Corner windows in the living room provide a bright spot for reading next to a custom oak bench.
The artwork is a copper piece made by an Arizona artist known as Sam the Copperman.
The artwork is a copper piece made by an Arizona artist known as Sam the Copperman.
Custom oak cabinetry and a large island combine to create an efficient kitchen that can easily accommodate multiple cooks and guests when the homeowners have family and friends over for holidays and parties.
The art is by artist Houshang from Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Barstools: Le Belle Arti
The art is by artist Houshang from Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Barstools: Le Belle Arti
An acid-green glass backsplash adds a ribbon of color to the airy kitchen, which has views of the front yard.
The vent for the induction cooktop is hidden in the cabinetry.
Appliances: Sub-Zero and Wolf; countertops: Caesarstone
The vent for the induction cooktop is hidden in the cabinetry.
Appliances: Sub-Zero and Wolf; countertops: Caesarstone
The freestanding cabinet unit at the back separates the entry from the kitchen and includes the refrigerator, freezer and pantry storage.
Sink: Franke; faucet: Grohe
Sink: Franke; faucet: Grohe
The master bath — accessed from the bedroom — does double duty as a powder room that’s accessed from a hallway. The mirrored barn door closes off the extra sink and toilet compartment.
Clerestory windows add light without sacrificing privacy. The custom floating cabinetry reiterates the bathroom’s airy design.
Shower tile: Daltile; shower fixtures: Hansgrohe; countertops: Caesarstone
Clerestory windows add light without sacrificing privacy. The custom floating cabinetry reiterates the bathroom’s airy design.
Shower tile: Daltile; shower fixtures: Hansgrohe; countertops: Caesarstone
A raised terrace off the living room provides a seating area overlooking the backyard. The bed on the left is now planted with drifts of lavender, while the raised beds are filled with seasonal vegetables and herbs.
The property is fitted with a 1,000-gallon cistern that harvests rainwater for use in the garden during dry spells.
Is a rainwater cistern right for you?
The property is fitted with a 1,000-gallon cistern that harvests rainwater for use in the garden during dry spells.
Is a rainwater cistern right for you?
Cosmos and sweet peas thrive against a cedar fence that screens views of a tool shed and compost area from the house.
The site plan reveals the tight lot and its proximity to neighboring houses.
Efficiency is the hallmark of the floor plan, which also includes an unfinished basement for the mechanical equipment.
Builder: Jillian Builders
More home tours: Apartments | Small Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | All
Builder: Jillian Builders
More home tours: Apartments | Small Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | All
House at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple — she’s in the aviation industry, he has a geotechnical engineering business — with grown children and grandchildren.
Location: Edmonton, Alberta
Size: 2,200 square feet plus a basement (204 square meters); three bedrooms, 2½ bathrooms
Designer: Ibarra Rosano Design Architects
Before the design process began, Rosano and Ibarra visited the site several times, including once when the temperatures dipped to minus 19 degrees Fahrenheit.
“Designing a house in Edmonton isn’t that much different from doing one in Tucson,” Rosano says. “They’re both extreme climates. We did, however, involve both the contractor and an engineer from the start so we could understand the climate and snow loads.”
For the tight suburban lot, the designers created a well-insulated two-story house that relies on insulated concrete forms (ICF) for the walls and triple-paned windows to guard against heat loss. A geothermal heating system provides warmth, and the flat roof was engineered to withstand heavy snow loads.
ICF system: Logix Insulated Concrete Forms
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