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Fort 137

By : Daniel Joseph Chenin

GRANDS PRIX DU DESIGN – 16th edition

Discipline : Architecture : Grand Winner

Categories : Special Award / Sustainable Architecture : Gold Certification

Categories : Residential Building / Cottage & Country House : Gold Certification

Categories : Residential Building / Prestige House : Platinum Winner

Fort 137 is the culmination of a client’s desire to be surrounded by nature and their goal to limit the impact on the environment. Situated at the edge of the Las Vegas Valley, the parcel (number 137) shares a boundary with federally protected land. The unobstructed views of the Red Rock Canyon Conservation Area to the northwest and low-lying hills with trails up Spring Mountain along the southwest inspired our team to create something permeant and sympathetic to the environment that “looked like it had always been there.”

The design concept was to create a home that would withstand the elements of the desert, by way of two flanking walls protecting communal indoor and outdoor areas joined by a series of connected rock masses emerging from the earth. The walls become a fortified shield against winter winds and the western sun with a large entry rotunda leading to a central courtyard. The idea of a stronghold in the desert gave birth to the project’s name “Fort 137,” which pays homage to the historic forts that were hand-forged from site-sourced materials, dotting the fringes of the Southwestern frontier.

Constructed with thick, robust walls, comprised of regional stone rather than adobe, with deep-set fenestrations, trellis shade structures, and interior courtyards sheltered from the desert beyond, Fort 137 reclaims the vernacular of Las Vegas’ early settlements by utilizing proven, sustainable methods for designing in the desert to address the present challenges of climate change and resources shortages.

The residence is an open structure, organized into three layers, which radiated out from a communal nucleus of gathering spaces to a periphery of more intimate and private zones. Prioritizing human connections, generously sized gathering spaces are connected to the natural environment by way of large spans of operable fenestrations. Windows are in every room, including closets and bathrooms, to allow occupants to feel embedded in their surroundings with access to natural light, fresh air, and the extended landscape. A view frame cut into the courtyard wall acts as a portal to the desert outside the walls allowing the natural environment to take center stage.

Panoramic apertures with operable glazing on the north and south facades gave way to expansive views and natural light, while extending the living space beyond the architectural perimeter into the landscape and providing cross-ventilation when open. Deep, louvered roof overhangs helped minimize heat gain by providing shade during summer months while allowing natural light to permeate and heat the space during the winter. Transparent passageways and pocket gardens allow the desert to spill into the home while creating more thermally stable spaces. A view frame cut into the courtyard wall acts as a portal to the desert outside the walls allowing the natural environment to take center stage.

Minimizing the environmental impact was among the client’s top priorities and the overall design limits its environmental impact using sustainable strategies, such as passive cooling, daylighting, thermal mass, photovoltaic panels, permeable surfaces, erosion control, and zero to low maintenance materials including rocks, weathered steel, reconstituted oak, and travertine. These strategies helped offset the home’s carbon footprint, reducing its dependence on the grid, all while providing good stewardship for the land.

Fort 137

By : Daniel Joseph Chenin

GRANDS PRIX DU DESIGN – 16th edition

The project in images

INT.DESIGN Magazine

Fort 137

By : Daniel Joseph Chenin

GRANDS PRIX DU DESIGN – 16th edition

The project in images

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