Concrete blocks, stucco and glass form the exterior of a home by architecture firm Kendle Design Collaborative that embraces its setting in the Arizona desert.
The Echo Canyon Residence is located in on a wedge-shaped lot near Camelback Mountain, one of the city's iconic natural features.
The house is located near Camelback Mountain in Phoenix
The house was designed by local firm Kendle Design Collaborative for an empty-nester couple. A key goal for the project was to provide a strong connection to the environment.
In response, the team conceived a series of different-sized volumes positioned around outdoor spaces. Several curved elements soften the otherwise rectilinear appearance of the single-storey dwelling.
Curved elements soften the largely rectilinear home Exterior walls are composed of split-face concrete masonry units (CMUs), stucco and large stretches of glass. In terms of both composition and materiality, the home is intended to be a study in layering various opacities.
"Flowing through the house, the play of opacity and transparency heightens the relationship to nature and the mountains while distilling a zen-like quality," the team said.

The entrance is found on the north side, where the architect placed a garage with glazed doors and a rounded, block wall.
"A curving block wall interspersed with sandblasted-glass panels and a gate conceals a quaint courtyard full of yuccas, agaves, and an ironwood tree that filters dappled light along the walkw...