The former home of artist Ezra Orion and the new home for a couple and their family, the house sits atop Sde Boker’s desert cliffs, creating an intimate dialogue with nature. The new house seeks to preserve two important principles that guided the original resident: to avoid monumentality but at the same time not assimilate into the surrounding; rather, he sought to synthesize artifact — the house — and nature. Thus, construction incorporates natural materials, a desert-inspired color scheme, and openings that frame the landscape and blur the distinction between the house and its surrounding.

The parti consists of a rectangle with clean lines and a floating belt of local stones, reminiscent of Nabataean architecture — a tribute to the artistic perception of the house’s iconic resident, Ezra Orion. Upon entering the house, the gaze is drawn to the outside, which is framed by the courtyard. The stone path created by the artist creates a trail of stones that point to Hod Aqev Peak beyond the crater; this remarkably simple trail of stones is preserved fully, establishing a main axis linking the public space, the courtyard, the pool and the horizon.

At the entrance to the house is a thin sculptural staircase made of black steel and cables, allowing for minimally-disturbed views of the outside. The stairs span a double height space and lead to the upper level, at whose ceiling is a wide skylight that floods the space with natural light. Upstairs are two residential units for the family’s adult children, each of which is equipped with a private bathroom and closet area. The rooms are surrounded with a spacious roof terrace overlooking the endless landscape.