High Desert Pavilion
Bend, Oregon

Central Oregon is known for its access to a variety of outdoor sports and activities. The region’s distinct climates provide a unique opportunity to access many activity types in the same season. It is not uncommon for a person to go skiing in the morning and biking in the afternoon. A building in this region should reflect this lifestyle and provide a variety of ways to access the outdoors on daily and annual cycles.

The High Desert Pavilion focuses on engagement. The building is designed to provide a myriad of ways to engage the outdoors and surrounding site. On a daily scale, the intimate, northeast patio is a perfect place to watch the sunrise, the large south-facing patio is designed for outdoor eating, and the private patio off the master bedroom is meant for reading and star watching. On an annual scale, the overhang on the south patio is sized to flood the patio with sunlight in the winter months, creating a warm place to sit outside protected from prevailing westerly winds. In the summer the “Void” (interior courtyard) provides a cool place to escape the sun and remain outdoors.

Just as the low-slung roof lines are a function of passive solar management, the three parallel axis walls orient the house toward prominent views and define outdoor rooms, expanding the small footprint into the landscape. The steel clad spine-wall rigidly defines the public spaces from private and draws in the saturated colors and textures from the surrounding site.

The High Desert Pavilion delivers structure to a family’s living cycle and celebrates their daily rituals.

Project Credits