Project Details
Project Description
This project was selected as an Honor winner in the 2024 Residential Architect Design Awards, Renovation/Adaptive Reuse category.
“I remember appreciating that this one told the story pretty clearly, including what kinds of insertions they made with the light.” —Juror Ashley Heeren
Although this midcentury modern home designed by Tucson icon Tom Gist had floor-to-ceiling picture windows framing views of the Santa Rita Mountains in the distance, the interior still felt inhospitable and dark due to oppressive elements such as a low mechanical bulkhead just above head height, a beamed ceiling infilled with white plaster, and four large masonry piers. By doing away with those features, as well as updating many of the interior finishes, this renovation brought the house into the 21st century while preserving the essence of the original design.
The architects ripped out the masonry piers that stood at the home’s center, the low bulkhead and plastered ceiling, and the existing dimly lit kitchen to open sightlines and redirect the focus in the living spaces toward the window wall and its views. A new wood-beamed ceiling with matching wood-plank coffers adds to the streamlined look and unifies the living and kitchen spaces, as do new plaster walls and wood veneered cabinetry and appliance panels. The revised kitchen layout includes a back wall of frosted glass with a newly skylit corridor behind it, brightening up the core substantially. Meanwhile, the illuminated corridor leads to the private areas—namely bedrooms and baths—all of which also received updated finishes and minor interventions to bring more natural light into each of those spaces as well.
The outdoor areas were also made over to take advantage of the scenic desert landscape and promote outdoor living. Key among the changes here are a new patio just outside the picture windows and a pool in front of it featuring an infinity edge that draws the eye out to the mountains.
PROJECT CREDITS:
Project: Casa Luce
Location: Tucson, AZ
Architect: HK ASSOCIATES: Kathy Hancox, AIA (Principal); Michael Kothke, AIA (Principal)
Construction End Date: September 2023
Size in Square Feet: 3,558sf
Cost: Withheld
Interior Design: HK ASSOCIATES
Mechanical Engineer: Mechanical Engineering Consultants
Structural Engineer: Harris Engineering Services
Electrical Engineer: Electrical Design Associates
General Contractor: LeMarr Construction
Landscape Design: HK ASSOCIATES
Lighting Design: HK ASSOCIATES
MATERIALS AND SOURCES:
Appliances: Miele
Bathroom Fixtures: Graff, Hansgrohe, Toto
Cabinets: Custom Cabinets by Sage Creek Furniture with Shinnoki veneer by Decospan; AGT Supramat
Ceilings: Douglas Fir Tongue & Groove from Arizona Building Supply a Division of US LBM
Concrete: Optimum Concrete
Countertops: Cosentino, Silestone; installation by Dorado Stone, Inc.
Flooring: ground and polished concrete slab
Furniture: MillerKnoll / Design Within Reach, RH
Glass: Interior glass partition and mirrors by Hartman Glass
Gypsum: Lime plaster by Artisan Finishes
Kitchen fixtures: Grohe, Mountain Plumbing; sink Julien SmartStation
Lighting Control Systems: Lutron RadioRA 3
Lighting: Visual Comfort, Liton, Lightology, PURE, Flexa, Bocci, Sistemalux, B-K
Paints and Finishes: Dunn Edwards
Windows and Doors: Fleetwood Windows and Doors, installation by OpenEnclose
Photo credits: Ema Peter Photography (after completion); Logan Havens (before construction); HK ASSOCIATES (during demolition and construction)
Photo Credit: Ema Peter
