At a model home for The Edge at Joy Ranch, a new Camelot Homes community overlooking Arizona's Sonoran Desert, an oval pool and curved patio overhang echo one another.

The Detail:

The 38-foot-6-inch-by-20-foot oval pool anchors the resort-style backyard, mirroring the form of the patio and roof above it.

The overhang came first, says Mike Brekke, Camelot's director of design and development. Its long arc was meant to counter the home's sharp geometry, from the angled walls and rooflines to the corners formed by the patio doors.

The Bigger Picture:

According to Brekke the goal was an outdoor space that felt as open and designed as the home's interior.

"The result is an expansive covered space with uninterrupted views and the flexibility to accommodate dining, lounging, and entertaining in a variety of configurations," he says.

Rather than having to fit and arrange furniture and gathering areas around the support posts, the cantilevered ceiling creates an open plan that lets the backyard flex for different uses depending on the occasion, from a quiet dinner by the pool to a big evening of entertaining.

The Challenge:

Brekke called the engineering the hardest part of the project. Achieving a cantilever of this scale without visible supports required an extensive structural steel system, including large I-beams sized to carry the load.

"Rather than allowing the structure to dictate the outdoor living space, the engineering works behind the scenes so the architecture can remain clean, uninterrupted and visually effortless," says Brekke.