The
Downing Residence is a carefully nested desert dwelling on a hillside west of
Tucson organized between existing saguaros. The 3500 square foot design splits the floor plan into three
smaller pavilion-like footprints in order to rest more gently between areas of
dense vegetation. From a distance, the Downing Residence is barely discernable
from its east-facing mountainside backdrop. The structure blends with the surrounding rock outcroppings
as each of its three volumes sit reverently within a grove of saguaro that dot
the hillside.