Desert Star Construction.

Place

Scottsdale and Paradise Valley lie at the foot of Camelback and the McDowells, on decomposed granite, under a sun that holds above a hundred degrees for four months of the year. Desert Star builds for that ground and that light: deep overhangs, mass walls, glass turned to the mountain and away from the west.

Forty years in one valley have taught the firm which hillsides move, where the washes run, and how a house should sit so the desert comes up to the door.

Provenance

Desert Star was founded in 1978 by Jerry Meek, a framer who had spent a decade building other people’s houses and had formed opinions about how they ought to be built. His son Jeremy joined the crews in high school, ran his first project at twenty-four, and has led the firm since.

Two generations, one office, and a superintendent roster whose average tenure is longer than most firms have been in business.

Practice

The firm takes on a handful of homes at a time, each with a dedicated superintendent from the first cut to the last punch item. Desert Star prefers to join a project while the architect is still drawing, so that budget and detail are settled together rather than reconciled later.

• Ground-up custom residences
• Whole-house renovation and additions
• Pre-construction and design-assist
• Guest houses, pavilions and outbuildings
• Care of the home after completion