WINNERS: THE RANCH MINE, IDENTITY CONSTRUCTION, KROFCHEK QUALITY CONSTRUCTION
Cavin Costello of The Ranch Mine designs a net-positive vacation paradise for a pair of sporty minimalists.
The courtyard provides a reprieve from the sometimes harsh winds and desert sun. The 8-by-88-foot lap pool features a Baja shelf and hot tub for rest and recovery.
Like any oasis, when this Bauhaus-inspired property sprung out of a formerly uninhabited lakefront development, the sight of it was undeniably refreshing—yet its promise of positive environmental impact is even more exhilarating. The Ranch Mine principal architect Cavin Costello, who dubbed the three-bedroom, two-bathroom home “Ski Ranch,” says it sets expectations for how the world can exist moving forward. “To us, a ‘future home’ isn’t about style—it’s about lifestyle,” he explains. “Future homes should be born out of people and place.”
The central kitchen is the heart of the home. The walnut millwork adds warmth to the raw and low-maintenance palette of steel, concrete and glass.
Costello’s clients, former triathletes who primarily live in Park City, Utah, decided to build in the unique waterski community Spring Mountain Ski Ranch with the hope that they could, essentially, be able to live outside. However, the architect says, “The best thing about being inside the house is when you are there, you don’t feel like you are inside a house. You feel like you are flowing through a variety of sheltered spaces that are one with nature and the environment.”
Unobstructed sunrises and sunsets are only rivaled by the star-filled night skies. Portals in the patio roof allow for stargazing in the silence afforded by the remote desert location.
The couple asked for an industrial, minimalist, low-maintenance home with a limited palette comprised of simple materials—only glass, concrete, steel and Ipe wood—and Costello made it all happen in less than 2,300 square feet. “I designed it to take advantage of Arizona’s beautiful landscape,” he explains. “In fact, the livable space is just a mere 40% of the total square footage that is under roof.” The structure shields the late afternoon sun from the pool area, but an air-conditioned boat house closer to the lake also provides respite. In its 172 square feet are an air-conditioned bunk room, a changing area, storage and a kitchen with a pass-through bar.
The industrial feel of the home was carried into the kitchen with custom floating steel shelves and a cast-in-place concrete backsplash.
The entire project does not rely much on technology. Above the main house’s garage is a 10-kilowatt solar photovoltaic system providing enough energy to run the whole home and charge the couple’s electric cars, along with rainwater retention basins that, combined with a well and septic system, allow it to function completely off the grid. In every way, the home delivers for its owners and the environment. “We are up early to see every sunrise and stop to watch every sunset,” they told Costello. “This is our happy place. It is bathed in light, in water and gives energy like no other place we have been.”
The homeowner designed the dining room table and worked with local fabricators to build it. The design plays off the lake—a glass middle insert evokes the water ski run.
DESIGN DETAILS
TYPE
Single-family home
LOCATION
Buckeye
ARCHITECTURE
The Ranch Mine
theranchmine.com
BUILDERS
Identity Construction
identityconstruction.net
Krofchek Quality
Construction
623.523.2025
POOL DESIGN
Emerald Pool and Spa
emeraldpoolandspa.com
The home’s very first concept was an uninterrupted path from the street to the lake. The entry includes two custom pivot doors that can be opened to facilitate a seamless connection through the site.
RESOURCES
ARIZONA TILE
Bianco Levanto kitchen countertops
arizonatile.com
CS CONCRETE INTERIORS
Polished concrete floors throughout
csconcreteinteriors.com
DATILE
Charcoal gray pool tile
datile.com
DISTINCTIVE CUSTOM CABINETRY
Walnut kitchen cabinets
distinctivecc.com
EUROFASE
Pendant lights
eurofase.com
PURE EDGE LIGHTING
Gliding linear suspension lights
pureedgelighting.com
VISUAL COMFORT
Ceiling fans
visualcomfort.com
