Into the Wild

Above Coachella Valley, a house in concrete, wood and glass, set into the landscape

For the couple from San Francisco that decided to build this High Desert Retreat overlooking Coachella Valley, it was love at first sight: due to the location, of course, but also a shared project. A Swiss researcher on biotechnologies and a literary agent from New York, they were still living on opposite coasts of the USA: «Some friends invited us to this small community where they had purchased a modernist house from the 1960s. Walking in the vicinity, we came across this amazing location. The view of the Valley, the light, the air: we began to dream of having our own home in that very special place».

They turned to the architecture firm Aidlin Darling Design, makers of the striking Windhover Contemplative Center of Stanford University. The High Desert Retreat is a set of rectangular volumes, alternating wood and steel, organized on different levels to suit the contours of the terrain. An immense window frames a breathtaking panorama. The entrance, which also serves as a dining room, leads to a terrace and an infinity pool. All the spaces, including the master bedroom and the semi-independent guesthouse, are «nestled» amidst the rocks and pinyons that seem to be artfully designed, but were actually found there just as they are.

«We were attracted by the gorgeous landscape, the vegetation. Aidlin Darling Design did an incredible job, enabling us to live inside and outside all year round. We wanted a house that would complete the natural setting, rather than competing with it», say the owners, who spent the entire lockdown period at this location. «We have found ways to continue working and to stay in shape, swimming, taking yoga lessons on Zoom. We’ve also been studying Italian!». The couple, in fact, are now renovating a villa in Tuscany.