IN FOCUS: Darren Petrucci of A-I-R, Inc.

One of the most innovate and inventive Architectural firms located in Arizona may be one you have not yet heard off, but you should have.

Founded in 2001 by Architect and Principal Darren Petrucci, Architecture – Infrastructure – Research, Inc. (A-I-R ) is an architecture and urban design firm focused on translating advanced research methods and sustainable practices into elegant design solutions that respond to each client’s particular needs and desires.

A-I-R always seems to find a special group of intelligent and enlightened forward-thinking clients who are interested in a collaborative environment that focuses on design solutions that engage the site, environmental conditions and the client’s desires.

The result is always interesting and visually stunning. From the “ghost wash house’” in Paradise Valley to pioneering sustainable, living buildings, A-I-R melds intellect and global design into thoughtful and beautiful buildings: the architectural equivalent of Ferrari and Pininfarina delivering an all-electric, solar powered, sporting vehicle…innovative, gorgeous, functional and elegant!

Trained as both an architect and urban designer at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, Darren is also a Professor in The Design School at Arizona State University, a Senior Sustainability Scientist in the Global institute of Sustainability, and affiliate faculty in The School of the Future of Innovation in Society. This unique background and expertise in architecture, urban design, the science of sustainability, technology, and materials informs the design practice of A-I-R producing cutting-edge, intelligent, and beautiful designs.

A-I-R  is currently designing two duplex residences that they call Gemini 4 and Gemini 28 located at the base of Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa. These projects are designed to meet the stringent sustainability rubric of the Living Building Challenge (LBC). When completed these projects will be the most sustainable residential buildings on the continent of Africa.

Always pushing the innovation envelope, A-I-R’s Gemini Projects significantly raise the bar for global sustainability though their development of a patented precast form that will allow the building structures to be sourced and fabricated locally. This precast system is erected quickly and can be reused rather than demolished.

Lucky for all of us, Petrucci has several designs built and in development, including some astounding hillside homes right here in the Town of Paradise Valley. This global player is leaving an important contribution and lasting visual gift to his home town too!

This article originally appeared in the September 2020 Issue of Defining Desert Living. Read the rest of the magazine here.