Casa Desierto
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Casa Desierto

Is a home design that understands it is located in the Sonoran Desert - where heat and lack of water are the rule. The design reflects an understanding of that reality.

Casa Desierto Bungalow has special “desert oriented” features with an eye toward environmental sensitivity and the Scottsdale Green Building program certification.

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Trusted Developers

J. S. James Enterprises, Inc. A second generation Phoenician, CEO John James believes building well and not cutting corners in desert construction is the only way modern intelligent homes should be designed and built. Casa Desierto was commissioned by J. S. James Enterprises, Inc.

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Expert Architect

Forman Architects, LLC; and Design principle Andrea Forman, has been designing homes, offices, public spaces and industrial complexes for over 35 years. They offer Architectural Design and Documentation services for business and restaurant improvements, commercial and residential projects and specialty pre-design services including planning and programming for facilities in the residential, justice, laboratory, higher education and healthcare industries.

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Experienced Realtors

Bryce Buchanan & Bailey Knoles - Compass. Bryce is extremely passionate in the growth of Arizona and loves to refer to the mythological meaning of Phoenix, being reborn from the ashes. Bryce hit his first million in home sales and has done over 100 different rentals. Bailey is an Arizona Native and full-time real estate professional, with deep understanding of construction. She is teaming with Bryce to bring a diverse experience base to the offering of Casa Desierto to the public.

House Details and Features

  • Exterior block construction: is of low-density insulated composite concrete form (ICCF system) supplied by Eco Building Systems of Peoria, Arizona – “The Perfect Block,” offers superior strength and insulation from heat, sound and fire resistance. Concrete construction surrounded by insulating concrete coated insulated foam beads.
  • A metal roof offers long term, maintenance free protection and support for other roof top systems (Solar and water maker) as well as additional heat and fire protection. Fire rated spray foam insulation will be placed inside under the roof “attic space” to further slow heat gain. (HCFC free and formaldehyde free).
  • A 5Kw roof top solar electric generating system will be a standard feature of this home – feeding a net-metering system to ‘shore power’ and a battery system for easy power access. All system equipment will be accessible for monitoring and maintenance in the garage area.
  • A Source ‘Hydropanel’ is a solar water maker that harvests fresh water from the outside air directly and is operated entirely by solar energy. It produces super clean potable water, and will replace reverse osmosis type systems normally used in the kitchen. This unit will be installed on the roof of Casa Desierto and piped to a storage tank accessible in the garage and plumbed to the kitchen for ice making and drinking water.
  • A home automation system; Designed to be easily accessible to the home owner for use and ease of maintenance, the home automation system installed will use the new smart home industry standard “Matter” and “Thread” – allowing the owner to upgrade and/or replace or mix any automation system equipment with any manufacturer of home automation equipment. There is no need to arrange expensive specialist or contractors to maintain or repair the system. No equipment closet for the automation. Any qualified electrician can install and program and maintain the home automation equipment – and software on Apple and Android systems can access the home automation system without proprietary issues blocking control. With these standards, home automation will be as easy as changing a light bulb – various manufactures make products for light control, power sockets, thermostat, security, closed circuit cameras and other home automation controls.
  • Water heating will be via a dedicated Heat Pump Water Heater (HPWH), placed in the “service deck” at the back of the garage for easy access and maintenance. The 70 gallon HP water heater will benefit from securing heat from the garage and autos stored in that space. (A heat Pump moves heat from one medium to another.) A water recirculate loop will also be installed to shorten hot water warm-up times to all fixture locations.
  • An advanced audio/entertainment center will be installed in the main living area, in the style of a high craftsmanship wood console furniture or “Hi-Fi”. This unit will be tied into the installed large screen OLED TV screen mounted on the wall behind and above the console Hi-Fi custom built by Wrensilva of San Diego, California. It features a modern Turntable, Bluetooth and Sonos sound connection and distribution systems – allowing the home owner to wirelessly connect Sonos Hi-Fi speakers and appliances anywhere in the home. A big plus for entertaining.
  • Some bathrooms will feature electric floor heating – as a way to make these important spaces more comfortable and less muggy during the winter months as winter in a desert home can be very chilly and a concrete slab can transmit from outside that cold into uncarpeted floor surfaces such as the master bathroom. This style of heating also removes drafts common in most large bathroom layouts. Warmup is our selected vendor.
  • All water fixtures are specified as Kohler who’s design and execution offer the least troublesome fixtures in the industry.
  • Glass sliding Doors: The north wall of the Kitchen and the south wall of the Main Living Area will feature sliding glass doors, allowing the entire home to be opened up and behave like a giant ‘breeze way’ offering fresh air and a cooling breeze when the weather allows. Fenestra window and Doors is our vendor of choice and Weather Shield is the manufacturer.
  • A “Big-Ass fan” will be installed over the main living area to promote air circulation and mix the effect of air conditioning in the tallest room in the house. Air circulation is a way to increase the comfort level of any living area. All bedrooms and office spaces will have ceiling fans as standard equipment in Casa Desierto.
  • Interior walls will be built using metal studs instead of wood. This offers further advantage in the case of fire, but more importantly this will be a solid wall construction – no nail pops from green 2×4’s shrinking in the wall for Casa Desierto! And the metal is recyclable. All interior walls will be insulated for sound.
  • Cat 6 Ethernet connections will be available in all rooms of the house (including the garage and patios) as well as distributed hard wired WiFi transmitters through out the house. There will be no need to use WiFi repeaters or other ‘extending’ equipment since all transmitters will be on the interior Cat 6 cable system and will be distributed through out the home with the same WiFi access signature. Internet service via fiber optic cable is available to this neighborhood, allowing Casa Desierto to have the ultimate in internet speed and access.
  • Although natural gas is available to the property it will not be plumbed into the home. (Casa Desierto is all electric.) This is to attain the highest rating for the Scottsdale Green Building program which specifies, among other details, electric needs during construction will be supplied by solar generator battery system – not shore power. All electrical needs will be supplied by non-generator, quiet battery inverter systems for construction needs. In addition, a emergency generator pad will be ready and available for installation by the home owner if desired near the natural gas source. Electrical connectivity to the generator site and electrical service entrance to the home will be ready for generator installation if the home owner wishes.
  • Tubular Daylighting will be installed in the master bedroom closet, Master bath and Garage in Casa Desierto.
  • All installed lighting will be 3200K dimmable LED sources.
  • Existing protected desert landscaping will be a feature of Casa Desierto’ construction. In addition, newly planted indigenous desert flowering plants will be included in the landscaping.
  • A non-wood burning electric simulated fireplace will be featured in the dining area of Casa Desierto. This unit will also have an electric forced heater if the owner wants to use it as a heat source besides the theatrical fire effect.
  • Custom Architectural Art: Gates and the East side of Casa Desierto will feature installed custom art as part of the project’s construction by the Architect, Ms. Andrea Forman. The east wall offers a two story canvas for her interpretation of a “looking down view” of a desert Agave plant. The art will be LED back-lighted.
  • Casa Desierto will be completely fire sprinkled including the garage as mandated by the City of Scottsdale.
  • Air Conditioning: Casa Desierto will have 4 zones of controllable A/C and Heating units so the home owner can shut down or reduce the needed cooling or heating of any part of the home that is not in continuous use. Each zone will feature independent thermostatic controls. A clear electrical cost savings option.
  • Span Smart panel: One power panel will be installed to assist in monitoring the Solar System and offer control for specific wired systems.
  • Other miscellaneous innovations include: outdoor electrical sockets in numerous outdoor spaces and under the eves for the temporary installation of decorative lighting, LED yard lighting and garden accent lighting, and a 2025 design garage door opener system.
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