Opened in early 1999, this resort has been hailed as the first resort community to provide a truly authentic experience of this particular desert. Our challenge was to capture the uniqueness of the local desert environment, while appropriately expressing the community and its lifestyle within a context of existing development that has relied heavily on irrigated lawns and extensive use of water features.

The desire to conserve water - a scarce and valuable resource - was fundamental to the design of the overall project. The architecture is integrated within two planned golf courses, one of which is a desert transition zone and the other of which is a xeriscape. The buildings are sited on the crests of the hills in a full desert environment, and all water on site is directed by gravity to streams and low-lying pools for collection. In contrast to the prevailing trend in the area to create expanses of water-dependent lawn, all plants used in the landscaping are native, drought-tolerant species. Water that is not consumed directly through below-ground irrigation is collected and re-circulated.

We sought to create an exciting environment that is ecologically and culturally sensitive to the heritage and desert setting of the Coachella Valley. Our response was a classic, timeless architecture that enriches memories and expectations of the desert.

Winner of the 1997 Pacific Coast Builders' Conference: Gold Nugget Award for Best Community Plan Under 500 Acres.