deer creek

Having recently graduated from university, a group of college buddies pooled their money to embark on an adventure that wouldn’t fully come to fruition until many years later. They had scraped together just enough savings to purchase a breathtaking plot of land cradled on three sides by the largest national monument in the U.S.; Utah’s Grand Staircase-Escalante.

The main priority was obvious – it needed to respect the essence of this special place and nurture the act of living simply within it. It also needed to be constructed with extreme care so as to disrupt the land as little as possible.

To that end, the structure rests gently near the base of a bluff, at the seam where rock and vegetation meet. This siting minimize visual impact from afar while maintaining spectacular views on the interior.

Using rugged materials that reflect the desert fabric (corten steel, split-face concrete block, and cedar), the structure naturally blends in and ages with its surroundings. The built form is simple - two volumes capped by shed roofs, married by clerestory windows. Understated yet striking, ushering in views, light, and breezes from the desert panorama.