Honorable Mention: International Architecture Awards 2022
Optima Sonoran Village | Scottsdale, Arizona, USA | 2019

Architects: David Hovey & Associates Architect, Inc.
Lead Architect: David Hovey Jr.
General Contractor: DCH Construction, Inc.
Client: David Hovey Jr.
Photographers: Bill Timmerman

With an innovative 21st century vision of urban residential design, Sonoran Village is a complex of five residential buildings that feature a modular system approach with a high-performance window wall with integrated sunscreens and louvers of bright colors. This interchangeable system of exterior wall elements is located strategically based on building orientation, site exposure, and views to integrate light and privacy in response to the desert environment. deep terraces with integral landscaped planters are provided at each unit, the result is an undulating and dynamic façade of shades and shadows, textures and voids.

A key detail to the exterior enclosure system is the integration of the sunscreening elements with a standardized window wall system. Rolled and perforated aluminum sunscreens and louvers of bright yellow were carefully designed so that they could be prefabricated and installed off-site on the unitized window wall system. This prefabrication process allowed for greater quality control and cost effectiveness. Providing protection from the desert sun prior to reaching the exterior glass surface is the most effective means to protect the units from heat gain.

These sunscreen features allowed for airy and light-filled units with floor to ceiling glass while maintaining protection from the desert sun. Built on a 30’ by 30’ structural bay of concrete and post-tensioned concrete slabs, the project features sustainable building materials with high recycle content. One-third of the construction materials included recycled content; and one-third of the materials were acquired from local and regional resources. For instance, the window wall system is of aluminum and glass, and all interior framing is light gauge steel.

To mitigate heat-island affect, Sonoran Village embodies a site-sensitive vocabulary of deep-layered shades, shadows, colors, textures and transparency. Lush landscaping shades public pedestrian courtyards, creating shelter not only as covered space but as a serene sanctuary from the conditions of the southwest desert. Temperatures within these courtyards are usually 12 degrees lower than the surrounding streets and hardscape. The project has 100% underground parking and 6.1 acres of landscaped open space at grade level that further mitigate the heat island effect. The dynamic qualities of the project provide an architectural oasis in the harsh desert climate of the Sonoran Desert.

An innovative element incorporated at the terrace of each residential unit is a vertical landscaping system of planters. Each planter is integrated with the railing system of the terrace and features an auto-drip irrigation system and enables a palette of vibrantly colored plants at the edge of each floor of the building. The garden roofs provide a haven for urban wildlife, promote evaporative cooling, re- oxygenate the air, reduce dust and smog levels, reduce ambient noise, detain storm water, and thermally insulate and shield residents from the desert sun, all of which contribute to a sustainable urban environment.

The vertical landscaping system utilizes drought tolerant, native plant types that thrive on the minimal water provided by a self-containing drip irrigation and drainage system. With the use of low water demand plants in the landscaping design, Sonoran Village is 70% or 320,537 gallons per month below the baseline for outdoor water use as determined by the IgCC for 96,084 square feet of landscaping. Sonoran Village has achieved compliance with the International Green Construction Code (IgCC).