Modern Water-Focused Masterpiece
Design: Aldo Andreoli, Sanba International/ Photographs: Blacky’s Studio
Challenge: Incorporate water into a desert site in a manner that responds to the style of the architecture.
Result: A sweeping negative-edge pool that follows the contours of the house and acts as a visual and physical extension of the interiors.
This modern house and its accompanying pool are every bit as eye-catching as their beautiful setting. Designed by architect Aldo Andreoli, the house, located in the red-rock paradise of Sedona, Arizona, looks like a piece of art dropped right into the desert. Perhaps the home’s most striking feature is an eighty-five-foot-long negative-edge swimming pool that sweeps along the façade, reflecting the image of the building on its surface.
The main living areas and outdoor spaces are oriented toward the north to minimize solar gain during the hot summers and optimize privacy and views. Andreoli aimed for a close dialogue between inside and out, one that in this example evolved out of the prominent water elements that set the architectural tone of the property. In addition to the pool, there is a Jacuzzi off the master bedroom and, in the house, an inner courtyard complete with a small pond.
The pool side of the house embraces the outdoors with a wall of glass inset with sliding doors that open onto a partially covered patio that runs parallel to the structure. The pool forms the next layer of the multi-tiered yard, which progresses down into a cultivated garden. The outdoor spaces follow the natural contours of the terrain and, although they are connected, have enough implied separation for privacy.
Andreoli prefers to use materials that complement the landscape, and for this house he chose stucco in a terra-cotta color similar to the surrounding red rock and copper fascia that corresponds to the pinion and juniper forests. Flagstone patios and sand-colored decking round out the palette.
“There is constant dialogue between the interiors and the water outside,” the architect says. “You can be in the living room and clearly see the pool, which is very much part of the house, not just an addition to it. This house is all about water.” ⊕
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