Sited on a rocky hillside near California’s Joshua Tree National Park, this was designed to capture views of the dramatic desert landscape. 

The clients, a retired Seattle couple, wanted a single story house with separate zones for themselves and their guests.  We responded by breaking the volume of the house into four separate pieces.  The central block is an open loft space containing the kitchen and other public rooms.  On one side of this central element is another block containing guest rooms.  On the other side is a private master suite.  A separate garage completes the ensemble.

The detached nature of the building lends itself to prefabrication: each of the building’s parts can be built in a factory and shipped to the site nearly complete.  This helps lower costs and speeds up construction in the otherwise remote and difficult desert environment.