Four Peaks House / DesignBuildBLUFF

Curated by Paula Pintos
UNIVERSITY • TEEC NOS POS, UNITED STATES
Architects : DesignBuildBLUFF
Area : 800 m²
Year : 2020
Photographs : Janie Lin Photography
Manufacturers : 3form, Arizona Tile, Macbeath, Vermont Castings

Textual content description supplied by the architects. 4 Peaks sits atop the White Mesa within the Teec Nos Pos chapter of the Utah portion of the Navajo Nation. The house was designed for a household that was nominated, as in want of housing, by the Navajo Utah Belief Fund. A finances of 50,000 USD was given to DesignBuildBLUFF to design and construct this dwelling for the household. The household that acquired the home was a mom and her two teenage daughters, requesting three bedrooms of their small dwelling. The small home was designed and constructed by 12 college students, from the College of Utah, on a good timeline and finances. These 12 college students designed the home in a interval of two and a half months and constructed it in three months, constrained by the small footprint necessities and instruments that could possibly be used.

The outcome was a design that was meant to be modular in observe, with 4 giant modules of 12’X16’ and the partitions in four-foot increments. Every thing was designed to business requirements of fabric, as a way to maximize the supplies that have been purchased or donated. The modules have been then shifted to create differentiation between areas inside and variation on the outside. The shifting modules created the signature component of the venture; 4 peaks.

The title ‘4 Peaks’ has a bigger which means, because it references to the 4 sacred mountains throughout the Navajo tradition, one which might be seen from the location. The shifts within the modules additionally allowed for materials expression by way of cedar siding to focus on the shifts from the primary silver steel siding. With such tight finances constraints, the scholars needed to be artistic with components inside the home.

The floating cabinets within the kitchen have been made out of threaded rods present in a scrap pile and donated quantities of 3form. The benches within the eating room and mudroom have been made out of the scrap items of structural LVLs glued collectively. Pure plaster partitions are within the lavatory, entry, and behind the woodstove; made out of the sand discovered on the location. A big donation of 3form meant it was used for a lot of components; counter tops, shelving, inside window trims, eating desk, and small trim items all through the home.

Robinson Adey