Eldorado on 1st: a Vision Becomes Reality

It was a warm day in early May when Eldorado on 1st formally broke ground.

Ahead of the ground-breaking, the project’s renowned architect and visionary, Will Bruder, and the development partner Chris Chamberlain, of North American Development Group, surveyed their site. At that moment, the few footers and bits of rebar didn’t reveal the sophistication of the plans or the design hints of this former student of Paolo Soleri.

The most tourists or passerbys intuited of the final product belonged to the illustrations attached to the fence on the two curbs around the construction site, where Jay Atherton’s art installation now borders the sidewalk.

Now, fast forward to more than a year and a half later, and the concept art matches the reality. Once abstractly isolated to models and those lucky to hear Bruder himself describe the project, the building includes the many trademarks of his designs.

As you drive by the exterior, the site reveals the seamless mix of materiality, of exposed concrete block, blended with perforated and galvanized metal. If you come inside, you’ll observe the abundance of naturally lit rooms, especially in the space above the master bath’s shower — a sealed rectangular opening extends through the four levels which spills natural light from the top deck.

There’s the deliberate positioning of the project itself to take advantage of the landmarks, obvious highlighted spots like the neon signage of the Hotel Valley Ho, but less obvious is the workspace on the second level, where a thin rectangular window isolates the viewer’s attention to Papago Park to the south.

But, the appeal of any Will Bruder design is to discover those inspired touches on their own. Only three homes in the Eldorado on 1st development are available, with a furnished model open for interested, inquiring parties.

The sales office at azarchitecture/Jarson & Jarson Real Estate is open Monday through Saturday for presentations by appointment.

Images by Bill Timmerman.