Nestled in the foothills bordering the Indian Wells Country Club, this project serves as a desert retreat that embraces the solitude and contemplation provided by the site’s natural features. The site was selected for the presence of rugged rock formations at the rear of the site, as well as its proximity to stunning golf courses and hiking trails in the Coachella Valley. The project provided a unique opportunity to work with an owner who is also the contractor, allowing us to collaborate early on in the design process to create a design that was simultaneously innovative and efficient. The design of the home takes many cues from its owners, passionate golfers who love to entertain guests. To accommodate their growing, tight-knit family, the design provides numerous guest rooms and large entertaining spaces at the center of the home. Entering the home, shared spaces in the kitchen, dining, and living rooms are given priority and intersect views from the entry to the pool and rocks beyond. The kitchen and dining areas are emphasized as the heart of the home, where their family often gathers to prepare and share a meal together. As an avid poker player, the client also collaborated with the design team on the integration of a poker room off of the entry with a concealed powder room.

The interplay of mirrored roof planes nod to the symmetry created within the house below, emphasizing a moment of relief over the front entry with an asymmetrical flat roof. The mirrored roof planes allow for clerestory windows that let light into the entertaining spaces below, taking advantage of the striking desert sun without allowing in heat. Deep overhangs surrounding the home provide shade and allow for large openings on the rear elevation. Angled transom windows above these openings echo the roof planes above and maximize views of the rock formations from within the home. These openings emphasize a seamless connection to nature and the outdoors, creating spaces where the line between indoors and outdoors is blurred.

Taking cues from its predecessors in desert modernism throughout the Coachella Valley, the design aims to pay homage to historical precedence in desert modernism while simultaneously establishing its own, contemporary identity. Breezeblocks frame and ground the front facade, which features a pivot door at the entry with seamless views through the home. The layout takes a linear approach to a pinwheel floor plan, providing privacy for guests and embracing the pool and courtyard at the rear of the home. The pool serves as a cooling feature into the home and provides a central axis point for the courtyard. A photograph of loungers at the pool gives a subtle nod to Neutra’s Kaufmann Desert House in the design of this contemporary desert retreat.