a monolithic concrete volume winds around natural rock for 'house in the desert' concept

following his ‘house inside a rock‘ and ‘rock house 3‘, architect amey kandalgaonkar shares his latest imagining that brings a man-made structure in direct contrast with the natural landscape. this latest concept, titled ‘house in the desert’, aims to highlight the duality of the landscape. as the architectural intervention wraps around a natural rock formation, kandalgaonkar brings attention to both the permanence and the fragility of the natural formation.

all images by amey kandalgaonkar | @ameyzing_architect

used as the vehicle of his thought process, kandalgaonkar‘s drawing style is inspired from works of architect lebbeus woods and concept artist sparth. the architectural intervention itself reflects the theme of duality as the vertical stem of the house acts as a counterpoint to vertical rock formation. both are of same height but one is a rough, natural rock formation carved over hundreds of thousands of years by wind erosion and other is a slick, manmade, alien concrete box landed in extreme landscape.

front view

the winding arm around the rock formation extends to bridge the gap between the two opposing entities and this bridge section also carries habitation spaces of the house. the bending section of the arm is positioned in such a way that it shields vulnerable part of rock exposed to wind erosion and it carries main entrance stairs to the house.

house in its environment

the fenestrations are kept at minimum in form of horizontal slits — owing to sand storms and further highlighting monolithic nature of object and contrast to surroundings. open roof terrace acts as a gathering space during less harsh evening hours and for star gazing at night. the house, even while appearing contrasting and out of place concrete object in desert context, tries to minimize its footprint and aids in protecting immediate surroundings.

view of the pool and roof terrace

view of the stairs inside the arm bending around rock formation

metamorphic landscapes

wind erosion threatening rock formation

aerodynamic form of the house acting as wind shield to protect rock formation

previous form studies

failure of rock formation due to unchecked wind erosion

project info:

project name: house in the desert

type: residential

status: concept

architect: amey kandalgaonkar

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: lynne myers | designboom