Desert Palisades guardhouse embodies modern Palm Springs living
Nothing says Palm Springs more than the desert views, glazed expanses, striking cantilever and low-rise, linear forms of this steel and concrete Guardhouse in the city’s Desert Palisades neighbourhood. Designed by California’s prolific contemporary architect Sean Lockyer of Studio AR&D, this bold structure was conceived as a gateway to the Desert Palisades residential development.
Lockyer wanted the structure to reflect the calibre of the homes intended to be built there and aimed to balance his design with the raw and rugged terrain around them. This way, the Guardhouse connects with ease with both the built environment, and the desert.
A boulder on site was a key reference in the design, the roof nodding to it but not quite physically touching it, symbolising in a neat and legible way this dialogue between the natural and the manmade.
‘The materials used for the exterior and interior of the Guardhouse were methodically chosen to not only represent strength and durability, but to also complement the surrounding Palm Springs desert hillside.
The exterior materials – steel, board-formed concrete, and wood – flow into the interior separated by frameless glass, allowing for a seamless indoor outdoor aesthetic', say the architects.
Sitting on the slopes of a hillside just on the edges of town, the Guardhouse offers long views of the Coachella Valley city, which is known for its unique constellation of modernist buildings; a heritage that is celebrated extensively during this month's Palm Springs Modernism Week and the popular Palm Springs Modernism Tours.
The Desert Palisades Guardhouse was featured as the location for the March 2019 (W*240) fashion shoot by Joachim Mueller Ruchholtz
INFORMATION
Palm Springs Modernism Week runs 14-24 February 2019. For more information visit the festival website and the Studio AR&D Architects website
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
Out of office: what the Wallpaper* editors have been doing this week
Investing in quality knitwear, scouting a very special pair of earrings and dining with strangers are just some of the things keeping the Wallpaper* team occupied this week
By Bill Prince Published
-
Layover in style at Melbourne Airport’s new hotel
Ibis Styles Melbourne Airport hotel by FK brings together elegant rooms, co-working lounges and leisure facilities in a striking aircraft wing-inspired design
By Daven Wu Published
-
Forged in the California desert, Jonathan Cross’ brutalist ceramic sculptures go on show in NYC
Joshua Tree-based artist Jonathan Cross’ sci-fi-influenced works are on view at Elliott Templeton Fine Arts in New York's Chinatown
By Dan Howarth Published
-
A new Texas house transforms a sloping plot into a multi-layered family home
The Griggs Residence is a Texas house that shields its interior world and spacious terraces with a stone and steel façade
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Light, nature and modernist architecture: welcome to the reimagined Longwood Gardens
Longwood Gardens and its modernist Roberto Burle Marx-designed greenhouse get a makeover by Weiss/Manfredi and Reed Hildebrand in the US
By Ian Volner Published
-
A bridge in Buffalo heralds a new era for the city's LaSalle Park
A new Buffalo bridge offers pedestrian access over busy traffic for the local community, courtesy of schlaich bergermann partner
By Amy Serafin Published
-
Tour this Bel Vista house by Albert Frey, restored to its former glory in Palm Springs
An Albert Frey Bel Vista house has been restored and praised for its revival - just in time for the 2025 Palm Springs Modernism Week Preview
By Hadani Ditmars Published
-
First look: step inside 144 Vanderbilt, Tankhouse and SO-IL’s new Brooklyn project
The first finished duplex inside Tankhouse and SO-IL’s 144 Vanderbilt in Fort Greene is a hyper-local design gallery curated by Brooklyn studio General Assembly
By Léa Teuscher Published
-
Tour Ray's Seagram Building HQ, an ode to art and modernism in New York City
Real estate venture Ray’s Seagram Building HQ in New York is a homage to corporate modernism
By Diana Budds Published
-
Populus by Studio Gang, the ‘first carbon positive hotel in the US’ takes root in Denver
Populus by Studio Gang opens in Denver, offering a hotel with a distinctive, organic façade and strong sustainability credentials
By Siska Lyssens Published
-
This Californian home offers the unexpected through ‘deconstructed’ desert living
Gardens & Villas, a home in La Quinta, California, brings contemporary luxury to its desert setting through a collaboration between architects Andrew McClure and Christopher McLean
By Ellie Stathaki Published