The Ahmed house was built in 2005 on Escarpment Dr. off of Gowen Road, essentially the middle of nowhere. The first to be built and the first to be lived in, the Ahmed house was the starting point for the Canyon Point neighborhood. The Ahmed house, unlike the others in the neighborhood, was the only house to be designed entirely by the architect.
Although built with a modern style common to houses built in the years following 2000, the roofline exhibits prairie style qualities in that were common to houses in the Midwest because of the obvious imitation of the long, flat plains. Contrary to many prairie style houses the Ahmed house is a two story house breaking the long roofline into many different levels. The wooden pillars that line the eastern side and entrance of the house embody the craftsmen style with their rectangular shape.
The base of the house has a craftsmen border of stone that strongly contrasts against the concrete material the first floor was built out of. The architect’s trademark on all the houses he built in that neighborhood was the use of two different materials for the first and second floors. It was apparent just by looking at the house that the architect also favored long narrow glass windows. On every side of the house at least three windows could be seen.
The interior of the house is characterized by a high ceiling that allows for a straight stair leading to the upstairs. The space provided gives a feel of openness that is complimented by the superfluous use of glass windows. The windows allow so much natural lighting that it doesn’t seem necessary to use interior lighting until the evening. The many of the rooms were rectangular in shape fitting in with the general theme of the house as evident by the lack of rounded corners or anything rounded in the architecture.
Although the Ahmed house is an exemplary modern day house and incorporated prairie and craftsmen elements the architect added his own quirks to the building as well. A nook in the kitchen suggests use as a telephone holder but seeing as how it was built in 2005, not so likely. So the more rational conjecture was that it was intended for use as a computer nook because of the electrical outlets.
Other curiosities include the electrical outlets on the underside of the roof and those in the carpet. At first the practicality of the roof outlets could be questioned however upon further thought they could be connected to Christmas light and would get rid of the need for an extensive amount of extension cords (wow that was repetitive). The carpet outlets allowed for the architect to cover the walls with long, narrow, paneled glass windows that would have left no space for practical placement of the outlets. The effect of the windows was well worth the awkward placement of the outlets because it provides a new stylistic element and makes the house aesthetically pleasing inside and out.