In ancient Rome water often became a focal point of the home. Roman engineers were often very skilled with how to move and use water. Often roofs were channeled into a courtyard called an impluvian. In the impluvian Romans could watch the water fall off the roofs and into the courtyard watering plants or filling a fountain. This space also served to create breezes cooling their homes during humid Mediterranean summers. The Desert Impluvian House adopts this concept for the harsh Arizonan desert. In the desert the impluvian becomes a vital rainwater catchment, collecting as much water from the arid desert as possible. Next to the desert impluvian is a tall solar chimney. This chimney gives views into the impluvian whilst also housing the homes vertical circulation. The proximity of these features to one another connects the impluvian to the homes passive cooling systems. Placement near the center of the house makes it a focal point of the home much like the Roman impluvian. Here watching water fall from a second floor spout can become a spectacle during rare Arizona rains.