Just days after the firm’s extraordinary Super Bowl design fully acquitted itself on the national stage, HKS in collaboration with Narrative Design Studio has taken the SoCal spotlight again under the guise of a new, mid-century-inspired modern clubhouse retreat now completed in Joshua Tree, California.

Featuring a 55-key resort and 25-acre campsite, the new Autrocamp retreat is defined by its network of courtyards, firepits, passive design elements, pools, and walking paths that combine to enhance the area’s amazing natural desert landscape. Anchored by an arched Quonset hut clubhouse building, the site expands along a shifted axis to provide a seamless indoor-outdoor transition to visitors, who can each enjoy vistas of the surrounding National Park underneath an ample amount of wind and solar protection.

Per the architects: “One of the critical design drivers was to incorporate a feeling of both privacy and community on the property. Intimate moments and privacy is encouraged at the Airstream campsites, but guests can also opt for shared spaces including firepits, a plunge pool, and participate in interactive programming put on by Autocamp including fireside chats, movie nights under the stars, yoga, and sound healing sessions outdoors.”

HKS says it worked over several studies in order to get a gauge on the site’s orientation and impact on the desert environment, which is accomplished through a program of xeriscaping, on-site water treatment, an ample amount of solar panels, and native plantings. Lighting at the site will be Dark Sky compliant. The area has seen a tremendous increase in social media-driven tourism over the past few years, and HKS says that the entire development is in tune with the spirit of preservation and sense of stewardship that locals feel with the land.