Shadow Caster
Shadow Caster is a private residence in Scottsdale, Arizona. Sitting on a topographically complex site, with extremely rugged landscape and slopes angling down in every direction, the home was designed and constructed like a bridge spanning a ravine.
Design
Shadow Caster is straightforward, with a concrete slab foundation poured directly onto the minimally graded site. Steel beams form the horizontal supports for both the bridge and the roof with enormous cantilevers stretching out as far as 28 feet. Steel grating projecting from the roof provides shading as well as beautiful patterning effects. The vertical load-bearing elements, including the walls and columns, are made of a standard concrete block tinted to match the color of the desert.
On the east and west ends of the house, where the exposure to the sun is greatest, the walls are built of insulated masonry. Slow to absorb heat and cold alike, these massive walls help keep the house cool in the day and warm at night.
The controlled heating and cooling allows the house’s uses to change with the season. In the summer, the shade below the bridge structure provides an outdoor refuge from the intense heat. When temperatures are cool, the exposure to the sun on the south terrace extends outdoor access through the winter.
With the house hoisted to the highest point of the site, the views of Scottsdale are lengthened and dramatized while the panoramas of the nearby hills and the eccentric vegetation are intact.
The house features a connected guesthouse, kitchen, master bedroom and bath, laundry room and a second bedroom on the main level. On the lower level, there is another guest area, seating area, recreation room, courtyard with pool and a separate small studio. The house also features a garage.
Shadow Caster is straightforward, with a concrete slab foundation poured directly onto the minimally graded site. Steel beams form the horizontal supports for both the bridge and the roof with enormous cantilevers stretching out as far as 28 feet. Steel grating projecting from the roof provides shading as well as beautiful patterning effects. The vertical load-bearing elements, including the walls and columns, are made of a standard concrete block tinted to match the color of the desert.
On the east and west ends of the house, where the exposure to the sun is greatest, the walls are built of insulated masonry. Slow to absorb heat and cold alike, these massive walls help keep the house cool in the day and warm at night.
The controlled heating and cooling allows the house’s uses to change with the season. In the summer, the shade below the bridge structure provides an outdoor refuge from the intense heat. When temperatures are cool, the exposure to the sun on the south terrace extends outdoor access through the winter.
With the house hoisted to the highest point of the site, the views of Scottsdale are lengthened and dramatized while the panoramas of the nearby hills and the eccentric vegetation are intact.
The house features a connected guesthouse, kitchen, master bedroom and bath, laundry room and a second bedroom on the main level. On the lower level, there is another guest area, seating area, recreation room, courtyard with pool and a separate small studio. The house also features a garage.
Residences
Completed: 2001
