Perched on a knoll in La Quinta, California, the Madison House has a
wonderful location with great views and beautiful landscape surrounding
it from all directions. But it¡¯s not the exterior that gives it an edge.
The house also has a wonderful interior design. It¡¯s very transparent
and open and this allows it to establish a very strong and smooth
connection with the outdoors.
The Madison House was designed by XTEN Architecture.
It covers a total area of 10,650 square meters and it was completed in
2012. It impresses with its simple, modern design and with its delicacy
despite the tough materials that were used in its design. Here, near
Palm Springs, the atmosphere is very calm and tranquil and this house
perfectly reflects that.
However, the climate is not exactly very friendly. The extreme desert
conditions had to be taken into consideration when designing this
project. It¡¯s why the residence was designed to protect its users from
the strong Northern winds.
The house opens along an East-West axis and has a marvelous
indoor-outdoor living space as the star. The huge glass walls embrace
the wonderful landscape, let light get through and provide beautiful
views of the desert and the mountain. Structurally speaking, the house
is composed of a series of freestanding volumes built in stone, concrete
and oak.