Horizons

DUST’s collective experiences and interests run deeper than their small but significant body of built work exhibits.  The firm’s leadership and collective experiences gained from other firms range from institutional, hospitality, mixed-use, and multi-family scales. DUST has uniquely assumed both Architect and Contractor roles for most of their built works, offering invaluable insights into budget, design, quality, project delivery, time, and site constraints.

The practice and work are internationally recognized for an aesthetic and ethic that honors the environment, culture, biotic community, sustainable practices, and place.

The firm’s deep respect for these values has recently garnered larger commissions for projects in highly sensitive natural environments: ecologically sensitive hospitality projects in Aruba and Saudi Arabia, residences and small resorts in West Texas, Utah, New Mexico, and Southern California.

Each environment requiring special consideration in the conservation or rehabilitation or reintroduction of habitat balanced with the development of construction on a site. From lavafields, to oceansides, to mountains, and pristine deserts.

Locally, DUST has collaborated with entities such as the Tucson Audubon Society, historic neighborhoods, and the City of Tucson, in addition to private owners and developers. These experiences have allowed the promotion of culturally and environmentally sensitive approaches in urban and remote contexts by minimizing impact, advocating for research-backed informed decision-making, and carefully considering design and construction strategies.

The work develops strategies for urban and master planning, creatively addresses zoning restrictions, challenges policies, incentivizes infill districts, advocates for habitats and pedestrian-focused development, and encourages sustainable water management in urban settings.

Our experience navigating projects through boards of directors, neighborhood organizations, historic review committees, and permitting offices has resulted in projects that successfully catalyze positive change, exceed client goals, and benefit the public.

The work leads in with the question, “How can we contribute to making the place more resilient and better than it was?” The unwavering commitment is evident, where each project, built or conceptual, reflects a delicate integration into environments while navigating complex environmental, cultural, and policy landscapes.

Horizons is a collection of daydreams and speculations from our practice. The present moment’s contributions to our continual investigation into the fundamentally human act of dwelling in a place. It is an ongoing dialogue between humans, nature, culture, climate, material, light, and the promise of the horizon.

Dreaming about

Hill Country, Texas

Residence adapting an 1800’s historic ranch homestead along the Llano River.

Rio Grande Valley, Texas

Transnational space for art and artists amidst historic Spanish land grant infrastructures

Taos, New Mexico

New residence located on the mesa overlooking the village of Taos and the Rio Grande Valley.

Saudi Arabia

Off grid resort in the mystical landscape of the Arabian Peninsula

Marfa, Texas

New residence located at the eastern edge of town in the windswept High Desert

Galisteo, New Mexico

New residence in the Galisteo Basin Preserve south of Santa Fe situated on a mesa situated between the Sangre De Cristos, Sandias, and the Jemez Mountains

Aruba

50 Room Hotel Master Plan, On the desert island, near Arikok National Park

Patagonia, Arizona

Tucson Audubon’s Paton Center for Hummingbird’s Visitor and Research Center, in the Sonoita Creek Floodway

Joshua Tree, California

Residence, Adjacent to the Mojave Land Trust, near the entrance to Joshua Tree National Park

St. George, Utah

Residence, Located in raw lava fields near Snow Canyon

Tucson, Arizona

Residences in Barrio Historico, Barrio El Hoyo, Sam Hughes, Armory Park, Sabino Canyon, and Molino Canyon, Honeybee Ridge, near Ventana Canyon

Historic renovation for Cafe

Master Plan for Tucson Waldorf School, with Paul Weiner, Architect, in the Rillito and Finger Rock watersheds

Apache Junction, Arizona

Residence at the base of Superstition mountains

Maui, Hawaii

Residence, Located where the lava flow meets the ocean

Sedona, Arizona

Private Sanctuary, in the bosques and fields on the ancient Wet Beaver Creek

Terlingua, Texas

Small Eco Resort near Big Bend National Park