DeConcini House | Paolo Soleri Architect

Beautifully kept, recently restored and well detailed, the DeConcini House is the only single family home designed by Architect Paolo Soleri and constructed in Arizona. The home is located in the pastoral Colter Estates neighborhood near the Arizona Biltmore. This very special home has been well-kept with additional detailing undertaken by the current architect owners. A unique design, the home lives in a conventional manner while quietly integrating Soleri’s principals of “Arcology”.

Offering 6 bedrooms, office, tower library-nook and semi-finished basement, the home integrates a gracious sense of space and form juxtaposed against a fully landscaped irrigated lot. Mature trees and expansive lawn offers setting that includes pool and outdoor “gazebo’ with fireplace; a cool respite from the eternal Arizona sun. Elegant interior spaces flow delicately from room-to-room. Dramatic barrel vaults, and a series of integral solar shading devices on east, west and south which echoes similar geometry expressed in much of Soleri’s drawings and work. The split-level design, remains compact yet ample and visually open incorporating a series of both communal and private spaces, allowing the home to not overcome the landscape. Two main-level rooms feature the grand domed wood ceilings that align with glazing for a stunning, yet sheltered connection to the exteriors. Timeless oak flooring and cabinetry throughout make for a continuous flow of materials. The design includes passive solar features: double walls on the west and east to protect the home from the sun: the west exterior wall a keyhole cutout, the east a curved notch, allowing light with minimal heat gain.

Some history: The DeConcini House was completed in 1982, and has been included in several publications, including Phoenix Home and Garden magazine. Dino DeConcini, (who along with his brother, Senator Dennis DeConcini; longtime admirers of Soleri’s work), approached the architect with an idea of designing a house for his family. Soleri had designed just one other house outside of his compounds: the famous “Dome House” in Cave Creek, which included Architect Mark Mills, making this a rare and unusual work from an architect whose built works remained mostly within his own control and compounds.