The Blu House on Stanford

The Blu House on Stanford sits in Paradise Valley as a study in a single color. Its facade is clad in glazed terracotta in a deep midnight blue, the glaze broken by a fine crystalline craze that catches and scatters light across the surface. A waterline datum, set just above nine feet, divides the exterior: smooth panels below, textured above, a horizontal reading that grounds the house on its site.

Inside, the house turns quiet and tonal. The interior color was developed along principles drawn from Kenya Hara, held to a restrained range so that light, rather than color, does the work. Four organic voids carve through the ceiling plane, each oriented to a different clerestory or skylight, so daylight enters from varied directions and shifts through the rooms across the day. The ceiling becomes an instrument for bringing the sky inside, a language the studio carries through its recent work.

The result is a house of two registers: an exterior of deep, crafted color and a calm, luminous interior, resolved as a single continuous work from facade to finish.

Modern house with large glass windows illuminated from inside, surrounded by desert plants and cacti, under a clear evening sky.
Modern living room with large sliding glass doors leading to a backyard with a swimming pool, desert landscaping, and palm trees, in the late afternoon or early evening.
Modern black house in a desert landscape with tall palm trees and cacti at sunset.
A modern outdoor pool area at sunset with cacti, trees, and mountains in the background, featuring a pool, wooden deck, sun umbrellas, and seating areas.
Modern house with black exterior walls, glass windows, and desert plants outside during sunset.
Close-up of two large painted steel scuppers protruding from the blue exterior wall of a building under a clear sky.
Empty room with large floor-to-ceiling windows showing desert mountains, modern ceiling with skylight, three hanging pendant lights, built-in wooden wall unit, table with tools, and fire extinguisher.
Modern building with reflective glass windows and dark exterior, surrounded by desert landscape with cacti and palm trees, during sunset with a clear sky and contrail.
Modern living room with large glass window showing desert landscape with palm trees and mountains. There are white sofas and side tables.
Minimalist interior with light-colored walls, a bench, and a sliding door, illuminated by soft lighting.
Modern kitchen with a white island, built-in gas stove, sink, and large window showing an outdoor view with a white truck and blue sky.
Modern kitchen with white island counter, wooden cabinetry, built-in oven, stovetop, and sink, under ceiling with recessed lighting, in a spacious, unfurnished room.
Minimalist bathroom with a wooden vanity and sink, a large window with a view of palm trees outside, and a small mirror on the wall.
Interior of a modern kitchen with a ceiling light fixture, large window, beige cabinetry, and natural light.
Modern hallway with light wood paneling on the right wall, a strip of LED lighting along the ceiling, and a frosted glass door on the left.
Modern building under construction with black exterior panels and large glass windows, construction materials and dirt in foreground, and cloudy sky above.
A detailed black and white architectural floor plan of a large house, showing various rooms, hallways, and doorways.
Architectural elevation drawing of a modern building with a focus on a section illuminated in black, showing interior elements and human figures for scale.
Architectural model of a modern building complex with multiple rectangular structures, set on a white background with faint landscape drawings and miniature trees.
A detailed architectural floor plan of a large building, showing multiple rooms, hallways, and outdoor areas with contour lines indicating terrain elevation.
Architectural cross-section drawing of a building, showing interior layouts, structural elements, and underground foundation, with human figures and varying ceiling heights.