Board-marked concrete, creamy stucco and weathering steel form the facades of Foo house in Arizona, designed by US firm The Ranch Mine for a ceramicist and her family.
Local studio The Ranch Mine designed the home to be a suitable environment for creative activities and a growing family on a half-hectare property in Phoenix, a sprawling metropolis in the Sonoran Desert.
The Arizona home is informed by pottery
The studio created an airy house that encompasses 5,795 square feet (538 square metres) with a design that was influenced by the ancient art of pottery and the contrasting qualities inherent in ceramics.
"Foo is a house designed to be rigid in structure while malleable in use, precise in form while imperfect in texture, and varied in volume while limited in materials," said the studio. The home has a spacious rear courtyard
The front facade has a limited number of windows, while the rear facade has large stretches of glass that usher in daylight. This rear elevation faces north, where direct sun exposure is limited. A roof overhang provides extra protection.

"Sunlight almost never touches the glass on the north, other than early in the morning around the solstice," the studio said.
The interior has bright rooms and a fluid layout. The central volume contains an open-plan kitchen, dining area and living room at ground level, and a loft space up above.
The sleeping wing encompasses a master suite and three additional bedrooms, two of which have l...