Architecture Wednesday: Desert Courtyard House

What to say about this house ... I love it's austere exterior, the monolithic style of the front that seems to suggest a dark, cavernous feeling inside, that seems to suggest that there's nothing to see here.

But when you enter the 7200 square foot home, it's glass and tress and courtyards and water and desert landscapes. It's your own world, almost.

Wendell Burnette Architects built the home using soil excavated from the site, creating a structure of concrete and rammed earth walls surrounding a central courtyard. During the day, that open space is defined by a ribbon of glass, while at night the glass seems to vanish, and the steel plate ceilings become one with the night sky.

And I love that about this house; it’s like several different vibes all in one space.

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Wendell Burnette Aarchitects