Blue Heron’s Modern Desert Design in Las Vegas
See 2 homes from the award-winning design-build firm that were highlighted at this year’s AIA conference
A panoramic view of the Las Vegas Strip — the Sin City equivalent of an ocean view — reveals itself inside the great room of this luxe hillside home. The dramatic design of the custom home takes its cue from the nearby Strip’s entertainment, casino and hotel spaces. Sliding walls of glass disappear at the touch of a button and fully retract within adjacent walls. The interior space flows seamlessly onto an exterior terrace.
This is the Topaz, one of two Blue Heron homes showcased at this year’s American Institute of Architects Conference on Architecture, which took place in Las Vegas on June 5-7. Along with other conference participants, I toured both homes during the annual architecture and design event. The tour gave us an inside look at how the design-build firm combines cutting-edge design and construction to create modern luxury homes that emphasize energy-efficient, technology-driven elements. We’ll walk you through it and another of Blue Heron’s homes here.
This is the Topaz, one of two Blue Heron homes showcased at this year’s American Institute of Architects Conference on Architecture, which took place in Las Vegas on June 5-7. Along with other conference participants, I toured both homes during the annual architecture and design event. The tour gave us an inside look at how the design-build firm combines cutting-edge design and construction to create modern luxury homes that emphasize energy-efficient, technology-driven elements. We’ll walk you through it and another of Blue Heron’s homes here.
The company’s founding principles emphasize modern aesthetics and sustainability practices that will respond to and work with the lifestyle and climate of Las Vegas. With its projects, Blue Heron aims to blend luxury living with environmentally sensitive design, incorporating energy-efficient materials, innovative technology and smart site selection and orientation, some of which earn the highest environmental building ratings.
An Innovative Design-Build Approach
Tyler Jones, owner and founder of Blue Heron, has a background in both building and architecture. He worked at his father’s construction company and at various architecture firms in his youth. After graduating from architecture school, Jones struck out on his own, founding Blue Heron as a design-build firm in 2004.
The company’s approach to design-build places architecture and construction on an equal footing, assuring a focus on design informed by the expertise of the builders on the team.
Design-build, its proponents say, produces houses more efficiently than the conventional approach to building and can translate to a lower price point for consumers. Efficiencies result from the input project designers continuously receive from the builders on how best to get things done.
The design group within Blue Heron is organized by teams. In addition to the design and technical drafting one would expect, the company has a visioning team that establishes the aesthetic vibe for each project. A visioning team is more common at larger architectural and marketing firms that design large-scale entertainment and hospitality projects for clients such as Disney or MGM. By establishing a vision for each project, Blue Heron keeps the entire team moving in a coordinated fashion. To ensure that a complete vision isn’t limited to the architecture alone, the company also provides landscape design, interior design and furniture selection services.
The company also helps clients find the right site for their home — also out of the norm — either one they own or a property on the market. By partnering with their banker, Blue Heron offers a loan product that transitions smoothly from construction through occupancy, avoiding the headache of getting a separate construction loan and mortgage.
Tyler Jones, owner and founder of Blue Heron, has a background in both building and architecture. He worked at his father’s construction company and at various architecture firms in his youth. After graduating from architecture school, Jones struck out on his own, founding Blue Heron as a design-build firm in 2004.
The company’s approach to design-build places architecture and construction on an equal footing, assuring a focus on design informed by the expertise of the builders on the team.
Design-build, its proponents say, produces houses more efficiently than the conventional approach to building and can translate to a lower price point for consumers. Efficiencies result from the input project designers continuously receive from the builders on how best to get things done.
The design group within Blue Heron is organized by teams. In addition to the design and technical drafting one would expect, the company has a visioning team that establishes the aesthetic vibe for each project. A visioning team is more common at larger architectural and marketing firms that design large-scale entertainment and hospitality projects for clients such as Disney or MGM. By establishing a vision for each project, Blue Heron keeps the entire team moving in a coordinated fashion. To ensure that a complete vision isn’t limited to the architecture alone, the company also provides landscape design, interior design and furniture selection services.
The company also helps clients find the right site for their home — also out of the norm — either one they own or a property on the market. By partnering with their banker, Blue Heron offers a loan product that transitions smoothly from construction through occupancy, avoiding the headache of getting a separate construction loan and mortgage.
Blue Heron has three pathways for homebuyers: a fully custom design from scratch, a predesigned custom house with available modifications and floor plan variations, or a predesigned home with no modifications. The fully custom homes are completely personalized to the routines and preferences of the clients and are very high-end, typically priced between $700 and $800 per square foot.
The second and third options enable Blue Heron to achieve economy of scale, as the construction team is able to build several of the same house designs from a predetermined set of plans. Homes in these two categories have starting prices between $200 and $400 per square foot. The project managers can tweak the design to order and optimize materials with a minimum of waste.
The third option is the most efficient and has the advantage of a shorter permitting process and lower cost, because the company has already completed the design work and worked out the kinks in the construction process.
The second and third options enable Blue Heron to achieve economy of scale, as the construction team is able to build several of the same house designs from a predetermined set of plans. Homes in these two categories have starting prices between $200 and $400 per square foot. The project managers can tweak the design to order and optimize materials with a minimum of waste.
The third option is the most efficient and has the advantage of a shorter permitting process and lower cost, because the company has already completed the design work and worked out the kinks in the construction process.
Two Case Study Homes
The Topaz. Our tour visited the Topaz, a predesigned custom model home completed in April 2018 and located in The Bluffs, a 39-parcel neighborhood of Mediterranean-modern homes by Blue Heron. The Mediterranean appearance nods to the design guidelines that were established when the land was originally developed.
The Topaz. Our tour visited the Topaz, a predesigned custom model home completed in April 2018 and located in The Bluffs, a 39-parcel neighborhood of Mediterranean-modern homes by Blue Heron. The Mediterranean appearance nods to the design guidelines that were established when the land was originally developed.
A cross section of the Topaz shows how the house nestles into the hill, giving it a clear view of the Las Vegas skyline without obstructing the homes behind it.
Las Vegas is located in a basin ringed by mountains. Blue Heron’s homes, including those in The Bluffs, are predominantly located on mountain sites south of the Las Vegas Strip. “The Strip is why we’re on the hill,” Jones says.
The neighborhood’s streets run parallel to the contours of the sloping site, which allows the houses to terrace into the hill. All houses in the development are two stories high but are kept low-profile by terracing the lower floor into the land. Each property has an unobstructed view of the Strip, over the rooftops of the homes below.
Las Vegas is located in a basin ringed by mountains. Blue Heron’s homes, including those in The Bluffs, are predominantly located on mountain sites south of the Las Vegas Strip. “The Strip is why we’re on the hill,” Jones says.
The neighborhood’s streets run parallel to the contours of the sloping site, which allows the houses to terrace into the hill. All houses in the development are two stories high but are kept low-profile by terracing the lower floor into the land. Each property has an unobstructed view of the Strip, over the rooftops of the homes below.
The Topaz’s entry is through a protected outdoor courtyard on the upper level. An enormous pivot-hinge glass front door signals that the aesthetic is transitioning from a traditional exterior to a modern interior.
Inside, the foyer opens onto an open living, dining and kitchen area. A large opening between this upper level and the lower one creates a connection between floors.
The view from the foyer looks north to the desert and the Strip.
The primary outdoor spaces are located on the cooler north side of the home, with the Las Vegas views, and are protected from the harsh sun by shade structures. A pool adds dramatic bling by reflecting the neon lights of the city at night.
Much of the outdoor area is shaded by the overhanging terrace above. Shading the pool helps reduce evaporation and adds a cooling touch in the summer heat.
The homes in the development feature passive solar design, Energy Star appliances and LED lighting. Homeowners can also select additional energy-saving options, including photovoltaic solar panels and automatic solar shading.
The large surface area of glass faces north to avoid heat gain in the summer months. The doors can remain open fall through spring, when daytime temperatures are moderate. Even during the sweltering heat of the summer, the house can open up at night. The east and west sides of the homes have few windows to avoid overheating from the low morning and evening sun.
Experts on environmental sustainability may recommend building smaller houses than those Blue Heron creates, but the company’s environmental design moves do help limit the impact of its projects. Other environmentally sensitive practices include highly reflective roof coatings, brown cellulose insulation and photovoltaic electrical power.
The large surface area of glass faces north to avoid heat gain in the summer months. The doors can remain open fall through spring, when daytime temperatures are moderate. Even during the sweltering heat of the summer, the house can open up at night. The east and west sides of the homes have few windows to avoid overheating from the low morning and evening sun.
Experts on environmental sustainability may recommend building smaller houses than those Blue Heron creates, but the company’s environmental design moves do help limit the impact of its projects. Other environmentally sensitive practices include highly reflective roof coatings, brown cellulose insulation and photovoltaic electrical power.
The billiards room on the lower floor is open to the upper level, bringing in natural light and creating continuity between the floors.
Vegas Modern 001. The tour also visited Vegas Modern 001 (VM001), Blue Heron’s most ambitious project to date. The house is designed to show the company’s full repertoire of design, construction and energy-efficient technology capabilities. The custom home, currently under construction, sits in the MacDonald Highlands development in the nearby city of Henderson. Blue Heron owns seven parcels in the subdivision but aims to develop upward of 100.
In contrast with the terraced layout of the Topaz home, the VM001 is entered on the first floor, with an opening up to the second level. This allows the model to be adaptable to relatively flat sites.
The home’s entry is a carefully conceived sequence of shaded outdoor spaces with reflecting pools but no view beyond their walls. Only upon entering the house does a commanding view of the desert open up in front of you, as seen in this construction shot.
The home’s entry is a carefully conceived sequence of shaded outdoor spaces with reflecting pools but no view beyond their walls. Only upon entering the house does a commanding view of the desert open up in front of you, as seen in this construction shot.
In this rendering of what the great room will look like when completed, you can see the view of the Las Vegas skyline spreading out in the distance.
Unlike The Bluffs, MacDonald Highlands has no style restriction, which allowed the team to make a fully modern house with flat roofs and soaring overhangs.
Unlike The Bluffs, MacDonald Highlands has no style restriction, which allowed the team to make a fully modern house with flat roofs and soaring overhangs.
The house is designed to be zero-energy, meaning it produces as much energy as it consumes. It has a 120-kilowatt photovoltaic system on its roof and a Racepoint Energy management system. The system optimizes the home’s energy use from the available sources of photovoltaic, battery or electric grid. For example, electricity can be pulled from the utility grid during hours when electricity is inexpensive, typically at night. When electricity from the grid is expensive, energy can be pulled from the batteries. Excess electricity generated by the rooftop photovoltaics can be sold back to the utility during peak demand.
As we become more sophisticated in measuring a home’s environmental footprint, the factoring in of the energy used to get to and from the home, particularly for homes in suburban areas, will be an important part of the energy-use equation. Here, the photovoltaics and battery storage can power the batteries of an owner’s electric car.
As we become more sophisticated in measuring a home’s environmental footprint, the factoring in of the energy used to get to and from the home, particularly for homes in suburban areas, will be an important part of the energy-use equation. Here, the photovoltaics and battery storage can power the batteries of an owner’s electric car.
Blue Heron’s multidisciplinary approach to home building has been recognized regionally and nationally; the firm has earned more than 30 design awards, achieved Platinum LEED certification by the U.S. Green Building Council and Emerald certification by the National Green Building Standard program, designed and built two NAHB New American Homes and is now the largest luxury home builder in Las Vegas.