The arid California landscapes form an important part of the story behind High Desert House, a new home and studio by San Francisco-based architect Ryan Leidner. The project’s clients, painter Heather Day and creative director Chase McBride, were living in San Francisco when they first contacted Leidner after purchasing a property in Joshua Tree and planning to build their permanent home there.

High Desert House: inspired by Californian landscapes

“I’ve designed homes all over the Bay Area, in Los Angeles and Hawaii, but never before in the desert, which is a very different context,” says Leidner, whose background combines architecture with classics and ancient history at Brown University and Harvard University. “I’ve always felt inspired by the desert, its openness and its sublime beauty. When I was in architecture school, I first learned about the work of the artists and sculptors working in the Land Art movement of the 1960s and ’70s, and found it so inspiring to see how the context of the desert landscape gave meaning to the works.”

The project’s empty lot was located in an undeveloped part of the desert, and the desire to balance the compact, cozy feel of a domestic space with the vastness of the surrounding landscape was key to the design development. “We wanted the house to feel like both a clear sculptural gesture and a warm and inviting home,” emphasizes Leidner.

The architect has had the opportunity to work with several mid-century Eichler homes over the years (the studio was founded in 2014). The economical, “rectilinear” logic of these homes was a major influence in the design development of High Desert House. The goal was to create a building with clean, minimalist simplicity and an exposed beam structure. Notable artists’ studios, from Georgia O’Keeffe and Willem and Elaine de Kooning to the house Luis Barragan designed for himself, also provided valuable food for thought for the design team.

At the same time, “my background as a student of classical and ancient art and architecture has had a huge influence on my respect for buildings that reflect clear design principles. When you look at ancient ruins, you think about how you can interpret them and draw conclusions from what you see and what elements and aspects of the architecture have meaning. Of course, houses are very different in nature, but that sense of honest space is what I find so inspiring,” adds Leidner.

The result is a contemporary, stripped-down “box” – a wood-frame structure covered in cream-colored plaster stucco that contrasts with the desert surroundings (“(The stucco) was chosen because it can withstand the extreme weather changes in the desert,” explains Leidner).

The house feels distinctive but also sensitive to its context. The feeling of unity between outside and inside is also strong and is expressed through the glazed walls, the entrance with veranda and the terrace next to the main living area. “Personally, I really enjoy being outside and like the idea of ​​imagining a home as a place where you can be both protected and free. I’ve found that being outside and being in nature can be a real reset and I’m inspired by the idea of ​​a house that can evoke that feeling,” says Leidner.

The High Desert House is set over a single floor, with a spacious open plan living area at its centre, flanked by the private quarters (two bedrooms and two bathrooms) at one end and the large, flexible studio area at the other. It’s exactly what the owners wanted.

“The first thing you notice here is how incredibly quiet it is. (…) When we first met with Ryan, I felt like we shared a common architectural philosophy, something like a mix of Scandinavian and Japanese modernism,” says Day. “We love the emphasis on communal spaces in the design. The natural light (of the studio), the generous floor space, the large walls and the panoramic windows have changed the way I approach my painting practice. My latest work focuses on clouds, their scientific composition and their cultural significance throughout history. The large windows, the vast desert outside and the changing light have undoubtedly influenced me.”