Red Rock House

Red Rock House

Faulkner Architects

Red Rock House
© Joe Fletcher
Red Rock House
© Joe Fletcher

INTERIOR DESIGNER
Concept Lighting Lab

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS
Hugo Sanchez Paisaje And Vangson Consulting

STRUCTURAL
Cfbr Structural Group

CIVIL
Shaw Engineering

MEP
Energy-1

LIGHTING DESIGNER
Concept Lighting Lab

GEOTECHNICAL
Geo Tek Residential

POOL
Ozzie Kraft Pools

PRINCIPAL ARCHITECT
Gregory Faulkner, Faia

PROJECT ARCHITECT
Owen Wright

PROJECT MANAGER
Jenna Shropshire

ARCHITECTURAL STAFF LEVEL II
Breanne Penrod

GENERAL CONTRACTOR
Rw Bugbee & Associates

SURVEYOR
Diamondback Land Surveying

PHOTOGRAPHS
Jjoe Fletcher

LOCATION
Las Vegas, United States

CATEGORY
Houses, Sustainability

Red Rock House
© Joe Fletcher
Red Rock House
© Joe Fletcher
Red Rock House
© Joe Fletcher

Text description provided by architect.

Located on a three-quarter-acre parcel with views of the Las Vegas Strip to the east and Red Rock Canyon to the west, this site endures strong winds, cold, dry winters, and harsh, hot summers with monsoon rainstorms.

Protection from the sun and wind, as well as durability and privacy were the simple constraints that shaped the formal direction and materiality of the house.

Red Rock House
© Joe Fletcher
Red Rock House
© Joe Fletcher

The house repeats the spare behavior of the desert in material and form. A subtractive process left a wind-protected court to the east and provided an opportunity for an elevated basin of water that mirrors the dimensions of the living space. 

The distant view of the city profile on the water calls out its ephemeral nature and delicate relationship with water. Entry to the house is gained via a narrow opening in the concrete mass.

Red Rock House
© Joe Fletcher
Red Rock House
© Joe Fletcher

The threshold, at eye level with the water, leads to a closed and shaded passage that ramps up slightly to an entry court, open to the sky and inhabited by a vertical landscape of native plantings.

The architecture represents a contextual conversation between the desert landscape and the city.

Locally sourced sand, gravel, and fly ash mix concrete floors and walls in the harsh desert light take on a buff hue that associates with the distant mountains, rising from below grade to build a habitable landscape. 

Red Rock House
© Joe Fletcher
Red Rock House
© Joe Fletcher
Red Rock House
© Joe Fletcher

Over half of the built area is below grade, ventilated, and lit with openings in the structure to introduce sunlight, including several submerged under the basin's water level.

The mass-heavy house sports a reflective roof, 45 KW photovoltaic array and high-efficiency glazing, mechanical, and lighting systems.

Upper level sleeping rooms inhabit a screened framework sheathed in perforated weathering steel and elongated along the east/west axis to shield the pool from wind and sun.

Red Rock House
© Joe Fletcher
Red Rock House
© Joe Fletcher

A south-side shaded deck screened with perforated mesh extends over the form to shade the structure and cars below. 

Open to the Red Rock Canyon to the west and the city lights of the east, the cantilevered form balances the sculptural weight of the basin and water. The earth-like ground form, fitted with its layer of weathered steel, is a nod to the geology of the Las Vegas Valley and Red Rock Canyon beyond.

Red Rock House
© Joe Fletcher
Red Rock House
© Joe Fletcher
Red Rock House
© Joe Fletcher


Red Rock House
© Joe Fletcher
Red Rock House
© Joe Fletcher


Red Rock House
© Joe Fletcher
Red Rock House
© Joe Fletcher
Red Rock House
© Joe Fletcher
Red Rock House
© Joe Fletcher
Red Rock House
© Joe Fletcher
Red Rock House
© Joe Fletcher
Red Rock House
© Joe Fletcher
Red Rock House
© Joe Fletcher
Red Rock House
© Joe Fletcher
Red Rock House
© Joe Fletcher
Red Rock House
© Joe Fletcher
Red Rock House
© Joe Fletcher


Red Rock House
Plan - Site
Red Rock House
Plan - Lower floor
Red Rock House
Plan - Main floor
Red Rock House
Plan - Upper floor


Red Rock House
Section A-A
Red Rock House
Section B-B


Red Rock House
Elevation 01
Red Rock House
Elevation 02


Red Rock House
Diagram - Sustainability