Inspired by John Van Dyke’s thinking on the phenomenon of light in the desert, taken from the book "The Desert: Further Studies in Natural Appearances", the spectacular Dialogue House, located at the foot of the Echo Mountains in Arizona and designed by Wendell Burnette Architects studio, is in fact based on a careful analysis of desert natural lighting and its change from day by day, season by season.
The luxury residential building - with its contemporary design standing out between the 50s-60s bungalows ranches - was thus conceived with two volumes of light (a warm and a cold one), a part focused outward to expand the horizon, the other one upwards to create a sort of canopy between structure and sky. The main volume is higher than body, guests’ zone and the garage displaced from the road on a side street, leaning against a dark wall which extends throughout the length to delimit the area.
This volume, thanks also to the strong shadows, beams itself to the south, beyond the Phoenix basin and the downtown skyline in the direction of South Mountain and Sierra Estrella Mountain. The second volume of the house - including a swimming pool, a mid-water half-filled terrace - soars at the deep blue sky of Arizona.
For the interiors, an eclectic and modern furnishing style is combined with large glass surfaces, vivid finishes and neutral colors that characterize the main functional areas of the living area, while the master bathroom, recently renovated, boasts the materiality of the Vicenza Stone in the color Ivory White, provided by Grassi Pietre.
The chosen shade perfectly blends into in the context, matching with the wood and stone floors of the house.
«For the renovation of this bath - the architect Wendell Burnette comments - we were looking for a material in perfect harmony with the project, which would have also add to design a plus in visual impact and materials. The Vicenza Stone, in its refined shades Ivory White, has proven to be the perfect material. Its natural beauty, the uniformity and the warmth of its color were able to amplify the perception of space taking up a minimal amount of it».
