Suspended on stilts in an elevated position in Utah’s high desert, The Periphery House treads light on the land, its raised design and use of materials chosen in reverence to the wild environment. The two-bedroom home was designed by Locus Studio, the structure quietly merging with the rugged landscape that covers this region close to the boundary of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.
By Toby Orton, Architecture
With design and build kept in house, all aspects of the project were guided under the watchful eye of the architects, whose craft-focused, hand-on approach delivered a home that struck a balance between shelter and exposure, its materials matching the desert and the lot’s surrounding flora. Built among a patch of juniper and pinyon trees, the home is partially cloaked by greenery, built off the ground to match the trees, while utilizing solid concrete walls across elements of its exterior to anchor itself against the site’s dense, rocky terrain. A cantilevered deck with outdoor seating introduces the home, with glazed sliding doors opening to interiors shaped by a material palette of oak, steel, and concrete, left raw. Full-height oak doors, frameless clerestory windows, and custom built-in cabinets create a quietly luxurious space that doesn’t overtly distract from the surrounding beauty.
With outdoor living central to the client’s brief, the design incorporated a sheltered outdoor courtyard with a wood-fired hot tub and sitting area, a swimming pond fed, and a steel-framed workshop tucked into the terrain close to the main house. A low impact retreat, Locus Studio‘s Periphery House is a grounding, immersive experience in the high desert.
Photography © Anson Fogel
