Modern, Rustic Elements Fill A Scottsdale Retreat
Stacked local stone and plenty of plate glass–mixed with stucco-covered concrete–allow the modernist structure to feel at one with the saguaro-dotted landscape. Martin designed the overall look of the grounds and worked with landscape designer Ervin Bollinger, who selected the appropriate vegetation for each area.
The theatricality of the desert’s mood swings requires an equally dramatic setting from which to view them. That is how designers John G. Martin and David P. Turner approached a modernist Scottsdale retreat originally designed by architect Linc Taylor.
The angularity of the home — which is sheathed in steel-framed curtain walls of glass and supported by rustic stacked stone walls — already establishes a stark contrast to the landscape, but Martin covered a prominent sheetrock pantry with Shou Sugi Ban, a paneling of wood that is charred black to preserve it.
“It created this very dramatic wood-like presence that was very sculptural and cube-like,” explains Martin, who continued this material around the kitchen wall and in both directions down the hall.
The use of Shou Sugi Ban also sparks a conversation about the blackened-steel framing of the house, as well as with art that leans heavily toward graphic and gestural black-and-white works. Ethnic pieces–a hollowed-out palm tree stump, chunky Dogon ladders and Balinese doors–speak both to the monochromatic palette (most are dark to the point of near blackness) and also the rough-hewn character of the flagstone. These also heighten the sense of texture and bring irregular forms to the tailored silhouettes of contemporary furnishings.