Serenity
The desert is open space and long views, but also the close-up, detailed perfection of the cactus flower. It is nature’s serene minimalism. This is the setting for our project inside the gated community of The Vintage in Indian Wells, California.
This project involved deep creative collaboration with clients Bob Davidson and Lisa Park. Lisa, an artist herself, partnered with architect Marc Whipple and the W^R team on every aspect of the interior design, and personally curated or co-designed each of the many art pieces throughout the house. Bob, a businessman and engineer, has a passion for racing and cars, and also for collecting fine wines. So, at the start, the program was going to include dazzling and innovative ways of displaying cars and wine, that would be both highly visible and striking artistic statements.
This house is a modern canvas upon which this artist and engineer could play out their strong vision and sense of creative adventure. A home they could call, Serenity.
The Program
The Vintage community requires all home construction to be one story in height. Our clients wanted the space of a two-story house, so the solution was to dig down. Whipple Russell architect / project manager Ty Harrison explains, “The design includes a main entry floor and a lower floor, which is naturally lit by large front and rear sunken courtyards. These two courtyards are strategically placed to flood both levels with sunlight, through the abundant use of glass, including glass floors and walkways.”
Front Façade and Entry
The front façade displays a graphical image on film that has been applied to the glass, creating a translucent mural capturing the motion and colors of the desert hills, while providing privacy from the street. The home’s long horizontal profile is contrasted with strong vertical columns flanking the entry, in addition to Marc’s signature ribbon windows.
As in most Whipple Russell Architects’ designs, water greets a guest at the entry. In one of the two streetside reflecting ponds stands Arete, a bold, energetic piece by sculptor Richard Erdman, commissioned along with four others for the house.
Passing through the front entry door, the walkway becomes glass underfoot, a bridge, crossing an expansive courtyard filled with greenery, waterfalls, a fire feature, and a trio of sculptures by Erdman. Aurora, Odyssey, and Aria appear to dance lightly on the reflecting pool below. Ty notes, “The sculptures are positioned on a steel pin, so they can be rotated for an ever-changing perspective.” The sculptor Erdman commented, “Those three, each in their own way, embody fluidity, constant motion, recirculation-the qualities that define water in its purest form.” A floating staircase leads down to the lower level and the open courtyard.
As you enter the house, views open up in every direction; down through the bridge’s glass floor to see the lower level and reflecting pond, left and right, the main living areas, and ahead, out to the patio, pool, golf course, and mountains. A whimsical entry feature is the custom lighting piece - a Lisa Park design. The conceptual fixture uses 125 individual lights, each of varying lengths, to reimagine a rain cloud showering its droplets down to the pond below.
Kitchens and Dining
This is a three kitchen house with a 900 sq. foot commercial catering kitchen downstairs. The open main kitchen is Italian, imported by Mass Beverly, who also made the multi-ring light fixture. The surfaces here are cappuccino sanded stone, and cabinetry finished with high-gloss lacquer and heat-treated oak. Retractable doors screen off this kitchen when desired.
Nearby is the butler’s pantry kitchen, used for prep and clean-up. It features a blast chiller and warming ovens.
In the dining room, the walnut table seats 12 and is lit by a Mass Beverly multi-ring-light fixture. There is a view out to the reflecting pond, where a Woods Davy sculpture stands above the waterfalls.
Themed Bedroom Suites
Each bedroom and bath have their own thematic colors, textures, and personality. The team created custom wallpapers from graphic images for many of the rooms. A pink rose fills one wall of the feminine guest bedroom, and in that bath, custom art glass of cherry blossoms was created for privacy screening.
whipplerussell.com/architectu...
project name - serenity
location - indian wells, ca
completion date - november 2020
project team
architect: marc whipple aia
interior design: lisa park and whipple russell architects
project manager: ty harrison
general contractor
contractor: michael robinson, RAM development
consultants
structural engineer: delta engineering
lighting design: john fox, fox and fox design
landscape design: randy purnel
videographer: geoff franklin, be film, inc