#RESIDENTIAL ARCHITECTURE PROJECTS
BLACK DESERT HOUSE BY OLLER & PEJIC ARCHITECTURE
A Californian residence with a highly privileged location
Located in southeastern California, Joshua Tree National Park encompasses over over 3000 square kilometers of exquisite scenery and intriguing natural sites. Integrating a residence into the landscape without ruining the pristine scenery seems unimaginable. However, the architects at Oller & Pejic were up to the challenge.
The Black Desert House is located in the Yucca Valley, adjacent to the park, on a site where several previous owners had attempted to build without success – a site that already bore the scars of previous development. The current owners requested that the architects build a “house like a shadow”, so the architects and client began to sketch a home that would become the shadow of the rock that had been scraped away.
Drawing inspiration from Western American Land Art, they created a home that both defers to the landscape and yet stands out on its own. Large windows open the house to the exterior, taking full advantage of the exceptional views and giving the impression of walking outside while crossing the house. The rooms are arranged around an inner courtyard that creates an entry and provides a protected exterior space.
With the dark color and angular expression, the house becomes an almost cave-like element of the scenery, an element that, at nightfall, completely dissolves into the surrounding darkness – little more than a passing shadow.
