In the overall effect, those sharp lines are softened by the curving expanse of the roof and by the use of dusky (although still dynamic) earth tones on the stucco portions of the building. The result is an artful mix of rustic and contemporary. The project–designed by Douglas Frederickson Architects and built by Southwest Architectural Builders, both of Phoenix, with interior design by Cindy Weismuller–earned the industry’s prestigious Gold Nugget Award for Best Public/Private Special Use Facility this past May. The award recognizes achievements in design and land‑use planning.

Tucked “right up to the mountainside as close as we could get it,” as Lifestyle Director Lisa Everhart describes it, the community center is built on multiple levels. The building itself presents one entrance at parking lot level, with a small first floor where restrooms are located and from where a grand staircase ascends to the main floor. Wood, stack stone and copper are the dominant interior finishes, coordinated with the design imperative of “bring the outdoors in” that is accomplished through the use of aggregate concrete for the floor (a textured look that mimics the desert’s gravely ground) and two desert‑landscaped terraria in conspicuous corners.

While windows offer views of the center’s surroundings, the more arresting sight from the stairs is the rock‑climbing wall. Large windows look onto the 38‑foot wall, whose undulating gray surface is punctuated with strategically applied colorful “holds.” The wall is housed in a central chamber that erupts from the building’s roof as a glass‑enclosed observation deck–which is accessed only by successful rock‑wall climbers.

In addition to the rock‑climbing wall, the community center offers Fireside at Norterra residents a spacious fitness center with an on‑site trainer, an aerobics facility, a salon, and treatment rooms for spa services. Part of the 16,500‑square‑foot building is currently being used as the sales office for the development, but that space will eventually be a large community room that could handle functions such as weddings and conferences. To one side is a spacious, fully‑equipped kitchen.

Outdoor amenities include a basketball court and two tennis courts. Wide open spaces include an event lawn surrounded by natural terrain and backdropped by desert peaks. Close to the building, within a gated area that offers covered and open deck lounging space, is a large, community hot tub. There are two swimming pools, likewise with covered and open deck areas. The “lap and leisure” pool also offers a large ramada with a 20‑foot stack‑stone fireplace and, at the opposite end of the pool, a fire pit around which friends could gather under a starry sky.

The children’s pool features an eye‑catching playground structure in vivid primary colors. With slides, ladders, platforms–and spouting fountains–the play equipment is located in the center of the play pool. Plumes of water shoot up at the edge of the pool’s wide beach entry, and the water stays shallow throughout– going to no more than four feet at its deep end.

Farthest from the community center building is the other playground, built on dry ground and sheltered by cloth sails that block the sun but do not impede breezes.

Fireside at Norterra by Del Webb holds its models open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Sales office phone number is (623) 587‑9786; the Web site is firesidebydelwebb.com.