If it’s been a few years since you’ve made any changes to your home, it might be time for an update. Michael A. Gardner and Morgan LeFever of studio g ARCHITECTURE discuss home updates.
To transform a 1950s farmhouse into a modern dwelling with all the resplendence of nearby Las Vegas, Michael A. Gardner of studio g ARCHITECTURE used floor-to-ceiling moving glass walls to create vistas and view corridors filled with natural light. Video courtesy of Western Window Systems
Michael Gardner, architect and principal of studio g Architecture, recently launched luxus Design Build, a construction firm licensed for residential and commercial building in Nevada. The firm’s first project was the 2019 New American Remodel Home near downtown Las Vegas, which debuted as the official show home for the International Builders’ Show 2019 in February and sold for $4.6 million less than a month later.
Gardner founded studio g Architecture in 2010 and is a licensed architect in 16 states in the United States and in New South Wales, Australia. His residential architecture work includes the National Association of Home Builders’ 2013 and 2016 New American Home projects. He also has designed numerous private residences in luxury communities including The Ridges, Ascaya, MacDonald Highlands and the Waldorf Astoria. His commercial architecture work includes hotels, offices, bars, retail and entertainment spaces in Tennessee, Texas and New York, among others.
“I founded luxus Design Build because I wanted to offer my clients a true luxury experience from concept to creation,” Gardner said. “We offer a fully integrated team of licensed architects, licensed and registered interior designers and licensed contractors that all have formal education and years of experience. We are cohesively working together toward the same goal, and it shows in both the enhanced experience for the clients as well as their completed projects.”
The firm has appointed Bridgette Slater as its director of operations.
Slater has her degree in construction management and is a licensed general contractor herself. Before joining the luxus Design Build team, she came from a local high-end design-build firm and has experience in estimating, purchasing and pre-construction and construction management specific to the Las Vegas custom home industry.
Working directly alongside Slater is, Larry Slife, the project manager and Tedd Bennett, the assistant project manager.
Slife served as the project manager for the 2019 New American Remodel and has worked in the Southern Nevada construction industry since 1977.
“Together, we are a team of experience, formal education, and passion that has streamlined the process of designing and building a unique and modern luxury home,” Gardner said. “Because of the cohesive nature of the team, we estimate costs more efficiently and really have fine tuned what has traditionally been a disjointed process between an architect and contractor. We are with our clients from start to finish.”
Luxus Design Build is a licensed Nevada contractor, license number 83151. For more information, call 702-381-6112 or visit luxusdesignbuild.com. Michael Gardner founded studio g Architecture in 2010 and Luxus Design Build in 2018, both based in Henderson.
He has received several field-related honors and awards, and is an active member of the American Institute of Architects and certified through the National Council of Architectural Registration Board.
He is LEED AP certified and a member of the U.S. Green Building Council, demonstrating his commitment to sustainable design and development within his field.
To view the full article click here.
Published in Las Vegas Review Journal By Kristen Peterson Real Estate Millions on May 17, 2019.
Having recently completed a LEED-designated home in Spanish Trail, the Las Vegas architect selected for the National Association of Home Builders’ New American Remodel was going all-in on the farm-to-table concept. And with net-zero energy consumption, he was aiming for the National Green Building Standard’s Emerald designation.
“Everybody talks about buildings and being sustainable,” Gardner said while standing inside the dining room of the nearly 6,000-square-foot downtown home with sliding glass walls that look onto a landscaped courtyard and living space. “But I’ve always felt that there’s this loop that we needed to close.”
LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. It is a rating system used by the U.S. Green Building Council to measure a building’s efficiency.
Walking through the home’s main kitchen and past the prep kitchen, which includes an urban cultivator for microgreens, Gardner headed into the backyard, with an orchard, gardens, grape vines and a chicken coop. The home’s ample refrigeration and freezers store the harvests and the daily eggs from the chickens.
“We’ve gotten to this very scary place where some children think that a tomato comes from a grocery store, that it doesn’t come from the ground,” said Gardner, principal of Studio G Architecture and Luxus Design Build, who advocates holistic architecture and sustainability. “When we have that detachment, we take a lot of things for granted.”
The 2019 New American Remodel at 2720 Pinto Lane, which debuted at the International Builder’s Show in February and sold for $4.6 million in April, features a West Coast-contemporary design with mid-mod elements: flat rooflines, clerestory windows and textured light stone that continues indoors.
Its exterior of natural materials — textured stone, wood and Kingspan metal — is influenced by other homes in the neighborhood.
Working with participating suppliers and contractors, Gardner gutted the home and removed unsound walls to open up the floor plan. He extended the home deeper into the property so that it and its three-car garage wraps around a strategically shaded landscaped courtyard with its own full kitchen, swimming pool, outdoor living room and natural design elements.
Gardner, who was architect for the 2013 and 2016 New American Homes, said this was his first New American Remodel project and the first home he both designed and built. The project, engineered and designed by his Luxus Design Build, allowed him to create the home as if he were going to live there.
“This is kind of an urban-esque environment with all the properties built in around,” he said. “There’s no opportunity for a view, like in newer developments where everyone plays up the view, so we had to kind of create our own view.”
The central outdoor courtyard is the home’s focal point. Glass walls in the main rooms look out and open up to it. Inside, the spacious, high-ceiling living room, anchored by a large white stone fireplace, recessed ceilings and indirect lighting, complemented by natural colors and varying textures, creates intimacy and warmth. Clean lines, organic materials and textures provide a sense of calm. Porcelain floor tiles, designed to look like concrete, continue throughout the home.
When Gardner opens the sliding-glass walls of the living room, the inside and outside entertainment areas are one. The main kitchen, a gorgeous minimalist area with ample counter space and bar seating, also opens to the teak-tiled courtyard.
A stairway off the dining room leads to a cozy, second-floor sitting room that opens through a bookcase into a spacious master bedroom with a kitchenette, high windows, master bath and large walk-in closet/dressing room. A door opens to an outdoor “catwalk” connecting to the second- floor outdoor kitchen and entertainment area with a high-end pizza oven and framed views of rooftops and trees.
“With remodels, you don’t know what you’re getting into,” said Gardner, who is LEED AP-certified and a member of the U.S. Green Building Council. “We tried to maintain as much as we could.”
When designing the remodel, Gardner studied the outdoor spaces as the sun moved across the sky to determine the best energy efficiency. Overhangs, walls and specialized window sizes are among the many elements designed to keep the house cool in the summer and warm in the winter.
In all, the elegant quiet, spacious home, custom-built to blend in with the neighborhood and its rich history, as well as the desert climate, doubles as a zen-like retreat, an escape from the outside world with private indoor-outdoor living.
“The stigma for Vegas homes is often glitzy and poorly designed houses,” Gardner said. “The level of design is getting significantly better. But we still have that shock-and-awe, casino-type design mentality here. It’s important to show that that’s not necessarily always the case.”
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ASCAYA, the premier gated community in Henderson, Nev. has partnered with award-winning residential design/build firms Blue Heron Design Build, studio g ARCHITECTURE/LUXUS Design Build and Sun West Custom Homes on exciting new desert contemporary custom residences available through an accelerated design program. The elite firms, who have all previously built homes within ASCAYA, worked together with the ASCAYA team to incorporate feedback on the most sought-after features on the luxury market into their designs. The result is an array of opulent single-story and two-story homes with picturesque mountain or city views sure to exceed the expectations of future ASCAYA residents. Simplifying the decision-making process, the program allows buyers to move-in to their brand-new custom home within one year. Prices range from $2.8 million to $4.5 million and are fixed prior to construction.
“These designs allow ASCAYA clients an opportunity to jump start their new home by having thoughtful architecture with all of the interior fixtures and finishes already specified,” said Michael Gardner of studio g ARCHITECTURE/LUXUS Design Build. “Once they select their home, construction can begin quickly. This significantly reduces the time frame to completion and move-in.”
ASCAYA is a popular relocation destination for California residents seeking refuge from their state’s traffic, high cost-of-living and tax structure. These out-of-state-buyers as well as locals alike, are drawn to ASCAYA’s breathtaking views and prime location near deluxe amenities, schools and trails. The accelerated design program was conceived with these families in mind.
“The design process can sometimes be lengthy and many people looking to relocate to Southern Nevada don’t have the time to travel back and forth regularly,” said Darin Marques, ASCAYA sales manager. “In addition, we often find that buyers value an expert opinion when selecting décor that will give their home the right look and feel. Our accelerated homes are perfect for this type of consumer as well.”
Gardner has created several accelerated design options for ASCAYA. The residences range from 4,000 to 6,000 square feet in both single-story and two-story designs with both mountainside and Las Vegas Strip views.
“Our overall concepts are for efficient and functional designs that integrate high levels of design and finishes but retain their livability and comfort,” said Gardner. “Each home we have designed in ASCAYA has a unique and custom layering of spaces that takes advantage of all of the amenities ASCAYA has to offer, along with amazing mountain views in the morning and Las Vegas Strip views in the evening.”
Visionaries at Blue Heron and Sun West created welcoming estates that embody the desert contemporary style for which the upscale mountainside retreat is known.
Blue Heron’s spectacular 6,200 square-foot, two-story estate has five bedrooms, a four-car garage and gorgeous city views beyond the generous pool and outdoor entertaining areas. The home’s kitchen, dining and master bedroom are all located on the first floor, with the additional bedrooms on the second level. The fifth room functions as a flex space allowing for use as a home gym, guest space or home office. “At Blue Heron we want the experience of designing and building a custom home with us to be an exciting and fun experience,” said Tyler Jones, owner/founder of Blue Heron Design Build. “We want to remove the uncertainty and apprehension that can accompany building a custom home and in doing so, are excited to introduce our accelerated design program.” The program will allow clients to get the sought-after Blue Heron Vegas Modern ® design with an expedited design schedule of 90 days to submit for a permit, together with a guaranteed fixed price on the construction of the home.”
Sun West Custom Homes designed a single-story 5,200 square-foot home with five bedrooms and a four-car garage. The fifth room functions as a flex space that can be used as a guestroom, fitness room or office. “I am really excited to be part of ASCAYA’s custom home acceleration program,” said Dan Coletti, owner of Sun West Custom Homes. “It’s going to be great for families to break ground on a new residence more quickly and they won’t have to wait on the design review and permitting as it will be ready to go. This along with our ability to rapidly build a home due to our very detailed design/build processes here at Sun West Custom Homes, enables new ASCAYA homeowners to move-in within a year.”
For more information, call ASCAYA’s sales office at 702-978-5800 or visit https://ascaya.com.
To view the full article published by Nevada Business Magazine on April 30, 2019 CLICK HERE. This article was also published in Las Vegas Review Journal on May 10, 2019, to view it CLICK HERE.
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The remodel of the existing property on 2720 Pinto Lane presented some problems for Michael Gardner and the team. However, the discipline they had to take an existing home and completely remodel the property shows their attention to detail and their will to complete the project without sacrificing their design. In the video, Michael explains the importance of the location, his vision for the remodeled home as well as some of the challenges his team continues to conquer during this process.
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The big thing was a 60 foot by 100 foot by 10 foot deep hole that was cut in the backyard. The original owner was planning on putting a shooting range in the basement, a garage down there with a tennis court over the top. And unfortunately, they ran out of money or decided not to do anything with it so this property was pretty much used as a dump for the last 20-30 years. A lot of people saw it as an added cost and a big pain in the butt to deal with. And here we saw it as an opportunity to do something different and unique for Vegas.
We were lucky enough there was another project in town that had almost enough dirt for us to fill up the whole hole. So instead of trucking it off to the landfill or right somewhere else they dropped it off here. We’re going to turn that into an orchard so it’s gonna have citrus trees nut trees herb garden. We’re gonna build up those planter beds and put grapes and different types of herbs. The whole concept of it is true sustainability, you know a lot more is gonna happen on the property we’re not tied to a sewer system so we’re on-site septic. We’ve talked about doing some composting bins in areas so we can again create our own fertilizer and use it use it on the property and really tie in sustainability. I think everybody thinks sustainability is all the technology all of these products that’s just one part of it. We’re trying to bring that whole other part of sustainable living into the project.
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Watch the video above to learn more about our design for the 2019 New American Remodel garage. The garage was designed, as Michael explains, to function as both a garage and a man cave. Check it out!
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The square footage of the house is about 5,200 square feet. We have a three-car garage plus an RV garage, which most people go why would you do an RV garage? In that neighborhood a lot of people either have boats or have fifth wheels. They have RVs and even the next door neighbor runs a landscaping company out of their property so the ability to store equipment in a climate controlled environment, is pretty critical. We felt that that was kind of a really nice bit and we intentionally made it larger than normal.
So most RV garages will be 18 feet by 40 45 foot but what we wanted to be able to do is if it was a car collector or someone that had the equipment they could kind of stack up a bunch of different things. I could turn it into a workshop so we’ve really turned the garage into a man cave so we’ve got a workbench. They’ll have TVs refrigeration, a small little dishwasher, a urinal in there. So it kind of becomes a space without it being a livable space.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]