Californian Orbital House Arousing Deep Experience Of The Cosmos

Edward Ogosta, once again achieved award from Residential Design Architecture Award with his Orbital House's completion in June 2021.

The Orbital House in Yucca Valley reflects the core experience of desert life via natural architecture that is appropriately positioned between soil and sky. It is located in a saddle-shaped depression in the ground, amidst an incredible panorama of nine-million-year-old geological formations. His customer desired a quiet desert outpost that provides a profound connectivity with the surroundings while without overpowering it.

A pure geometry of simple forms was inspired by an architecture of primary experiences, therefore the final design is a perfect square within a circle: the square being enclosed dwelling space, and the circle being a big roof disc sheltering the area below like an umbrella. This roof produces multiple profoundly shaded porches that wrap around the whole house and frame distant vistas, creating a gloomy temperate zone surrounding the building. Two enormous roof monitors, with features echoing the local geology, likewise pull sunlight into the center of the structure.

Expansive glass sliders display the panoramic scenery, leading to patios and the pool below, where guests may swim among the cactus and stones. A broad deck above the circular roof serves as a horizontal platform for cosmic astronomy. A straightforward palette of white plastered walls and concrete platforms reinforces the project's essential tectonics while recalling the materiality of traditional desert architecture.