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OON TO DEBUT, Lake|Flato Houses: Respecting the Land
(Rizzoli) is the latest foray for the firm, which was named
AIA's Firm of the Year in 2004, and whose remarkable,
environmentally-sensitive and -astute structures explore
an intimate relationship to site and surround. Of these
is Horizon House, one of eight years' worth of projects featured
in the new tome and forcefully contextual example of residential
architecture. This is the Lake|Flato trademark. The firm does not
draw a distinct line between the landscape and the architecture.
Nor is it in the business of crafting frivolous buildings. In its aim
to create an architecture in harmony with the local landscape, the
practice has many rivals and few equals.
From its founding in 1984 to now, Lake|Flato has completed
a staggering number of projects in a variety of scales and orien-
tations. The throughline of all its work, however, is its reverence
for context. "Our work is very specific to its place," explains
Ted Flato, FAIA, founding partner of Lake|Flato Architects. "We
work in a myriad of landscapes and climate conditions which
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results in architecture that is both distinctive and complementary
because the environment shapes each building. The programs
and the desires of clients are often similar, but the landscapes and
environments are very different." This often results in structures
featuring "radically different forms and materials," from the
rammed earth Courtyard House in the dry open land of Marfa to
the more open informal arrangement of black wood barn struc-
tures of the North Fork house. These examples speak to the firm's
broader ethos of connecting its buildings and clients to their
environment and creating "an architecture that has a seamless
relationship with the outdoors and is inherently sustainable."
This relationship is beautifully expressed in the rigorously
architected Horizon House. Overlooking Las Vegas Valley and the
surrounding Mojave Desert, the structure seems to emerge from
the landscape itself and was designed to "reflect the region's
natural topography by using rammed earth as the primary
material," according to the firm. "Sited on a triangular lot with a
steeply sloped hillside offering vast views of the valley, the home
