The Paseo, Scottsdale: The Light Through the Day
A walled outdoor venue in Scottsdale — an open-topped room whose character changes completely with the sun's angle.
The Haas House, Scottsdale: The Venue’s Own Logic
A small early adobe in Old Town Scottsdale, built by people who came to the desert to breathe.
The Westin Kierland Resort, Scottsdale: What It Suits, and What It Does Not
A large resort on the north Scottsdale bajada, where the open slope gives long sightlines and the city keeps the night warm.
The Phoenician, Scottsdale: What It Suits, and What It Does Not
A large resort at the foot of Camelback Mountain — and a scale that suits some weddings and works against others.
The Saguaro Buttes, Phoenix: A Walk Through the Site
A desert site among buttes and mature saguaro, where the landscape supplies everything and shelters nothing.
The Ramada at South Mountain, Phoenix: One Frame, and How It Is Made
A ramada below South Mountain, and the one frame it exists to make: a shaded party against a blazing desert.
The Royal Palms Resort, Phoenix: The Problem, and Four Ways Out of It
A 1920s Spanish Colonial estate at the foot of Camelback, lined with date palms that give almost no shade at all.
The Farm at South Mountain, Phoenix: The Light Through the Day
A pecan grove below South Mountain — the largest, highest and best canopy in the low desert.
The Boojum Tree, Phoenix: The Venue’s Own Logic
A walled garden venue in Phoenix named for one of the strangest plants in the world.
Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix: What It Suits, and What It Does Not
A major desert plant collection in Papago Park — and a plant palette that is global rather than Sonoran.