Thunderbird Heights Residence is a project designed by Stuart Silk Architects and is located in Rancho Mirage, California. Originally built in the 1960s, the challenge for this project was how to update a mid-century modern house without sacrificing its charm. Situated on a 1.3-acre site perched on a plateau above Coachella Valley, the rugged, inhospitable Santa Rosa Mountains rise immediately from the back yard; bighorn sheep can often be seen wandering on the rocks above. The 6,357-square-foot house sits roughly in the middle of the property; entry is off the driveway and through a private courtyard. Photography by David Papazian

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The client’s goals were to create an open and light filled home that maximized views of the Coachella Valley below and the Santa Rosa mountains to the south and west. They also wanted to create a fluid connection between the primary indoor rooms and the outdoor terraces both for entertaining and for casual outdoor living with their young children. ?The horizontality of this one-story, flat roof home provides an elegant response to the site and a counterpoint to the drama of the surrounded Santa Rosa mountains,? notes architect Stuart Silk. By further integrating the house with its desert context, this home has captured a sense of place by making the best possible use of light and landscape. Its rich palette of materials and textures banishes any feeling of austerity, and awakens the senses to p...