The Xeros Residence sits at the edge of Phoenix, where the city grid gives way to the organic land forms of the North Phoenix Mountain Preserve. Positioned at the end of two dead-end streets, on the upward slope of a narrow double lot, it faces the preserve to the north and the city center to the south. Its name comes from the Greek for dry, a reminder to build for the desert in which it stands.

The house is built for its climate before anything else. Each facade responds to its own solar condition. The west wall, which takes the harshest afternoon sun, is opaque. The south and east faces carry an outer layer of mesh that shades the glass while admitting light. The north facade opens fully to glass, framing the mountains beyond. The building is clad in exposed steel left to weather and rust in the dry air, settling over time into the tones of the desert around it.

The section is organized vertically. A two-level design studio anchors the base, partly set into the ground, with the residence lifted above it. The two are joined by an external steel stair, a separation that lets work and living occupy the same small footprint without touching. Throughout, the house is composed around light, material, and the discipline of building lean in an unforgiving environment.