Architect：XTEN Architecture

Location：La Quinta, United States; | ;

Project Year：2012

Category：Private Houses

The Madisonhouse is located on a West facing knoll overlooking a dramatic mountain range at the eastern end of the Coachella Valley. The area is known for its extreme summer heat and severe winds. During the winter months however the area is paradise - clear, sunny and temperate days, with cooler nights perfect for the indoor outdoor modern lifestyle made famous in photographs by Julius Shulman.

The Madisonhouse is configured to protect against extreme sun and strong desert winds in one direction, while creating a series of free flowing indoor-outdoor series of spaces opening to the landscape. The project was conceived as a series of freestanding volumes set beneath and between projecting horizontal slabs. These freestanding volumes in stone, concrete and oak are spaced and configured to create the different scales of indoor-outdoor space that flow between them. Building components, assemblies and fixtures were selected to achieve environmental goals. Insulated Concrete Formwork (ICF) walls were used throughout the project, creating super-insulated R60 assemblies. Four-foot thick stone and concrete walls, deep glazing recesses and large cantilevered overhangs were calculated to shield the house from massive desert solar gain. The house opens in every direction to draw air through a second story thermal chimney. The courtyard reflecting pool and main pool provide evaporative cooling for the ground floor areas. High performance glass, high efficiency mechanical systems, fixtures and photovoltaic panels further reduce the energy profile of the house.

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