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Schaafsma Escalante Ranch: Guest House
This project reflects a lifelong goal — to design and build a house as purely from the land as possible.
Design Approach & Features
The house will be built of earth and stone, two abundant materials on the ranch; it will also using both passive and active solar, as well as wind, for heating, cooling, and power. The design for this house maximizes the sun’s direction while maintaining the extensive views. A rainwater catchment system will capture moisture from the metal roof for 
nonpotable uses. Water used in the shower/bath and laundry will be directed into a gray water distribution system for the landscape. The east, west, and north walls of the house will be constructed of rammed earth. The south wall will incorporate large, passive-solar windows and stone walls that veneer fly ash block from Page, Arizona.
Borrowing ideas from the American Southwest, Mexico, and Spain, the design calls for thick earthen walls, stone and tile floors, exposed beamed ceilings, deep portals, and large passive-solar windows. The floor plan will feature an open kitchen and living 
room on the south side. A large bathroom will have north-facing windows and an Anasazi window facing into the living room. Above the bathroom, a sleeping loft will provide access to an outside terrace (the west portal), which will include an outdoor kitchen and a storage/mechanical room. On the east side of the house, a large portal with an Anasazi window will create a sleeping area during the warm season.
Project Scope
This guest house is the first part of a larger project.
