Ghost Wash House

Ghost Wash House

Located on a 2.5-acre property at the foot of Camelback Mountain, a prominent landmark linking Arizona cities Phoenix, Paradise Valley and Scottsdale, the site includes two desert washes carrying storm water through the site into the valley below, with a cross slope of 37’ in the north-south direction.  The collaborative effort between design team and client transformed the property into a legacy home with a primary goal of harmony between built structure and site. The landscape architect removed a mature hedge of Oleander around the perimeter of the site and reconnected the property to its surroundings with a native palette to Camelback Mountain. Because the client desired a mature landscape from day one, the revegetation process began four years before the home was completed.

The entry sequence from Dragoon Lane begins through a rusted steel gate and screen, with a tree lined drive bordered by salvaged, native Foothills Palo Verde trees. Salvaged boulders from the site form a berm to retain soils at the driveway. At the ‘hot’ & ‘dry’ entry court, sculptural Octopus Cacti Stenocereus alamosensis drape over the raised/terraced planters as a teaser for what’s to come beyond the wall.

The center core, flanked by two tumbled brick bars of the residence, is an infrastructure amenity, utilizing all the storm water captured by the massive floating roof, with cascading terraces of alternating patios and garden spaces. One of terraces acts as a capturing cistern, irrigating the plants & turf passively – the water slowly weeping through small openings in the tank wall onto the turf area and surrounding native landscape.  In this central zone, the client desired an eclectic plant palette with unique and strange cacti & succulents such as rare Boojum trees Fouquieria columnaris, Cereus Peruvianus ‘monstrosis’ var. major 4, Pine Cone Cactus Opuntia articulata inermis and Octopus Cacti Stenocereus alamosensis. These cacti have become great conversation pieces for visitors to the garden. The axial amenity spine terminates at the guest house and pool near the base of the slope. Between the perimeter washes, opposite the open space, the landscape takes it cue from a blanked Sonoran Desert meadow. Masses of desert wildflowers native to Camelback Mountain and succulents flourish under the sculptural Bosque of Native Ironwood trees flanking the central core of the house, reinforcing the linearity of the property, providing a buffer to the street and adjacent property, anchoring the site.