The Best of Desert Architecture

Apart from the soft breeze, the desert air is soundless. Camel Thorn trees and families of cactus adorn the otherwise arid sun-beaten gently undulating landscapes, where sculptural architecture rises from earth-crunched rock formations. It's the barren land of the world's deserts that equally lend creative inspiration and challenges for the structures built on them; as they must battle harsh temperatures, dust storms, monsoons and erosion. A few architects have used these challenges to their advantage, to innovate, to create radical pieces of architecture on the dry, rigid terrain. In a place where even people struggle to live, these beautiful structures stand tall, which is why we've rounded up the best of desert architecture.

Tresarca House by Assemblage Studio, Nevada

 Black Desert House by Oller & Pejic Architecture

 Desert Courtyard house by Wendell Burnette Architects

Quinta de Lemos by Carvalho Araújo Architects in Portugal

Hotel Endémico designed by Gracia Studio in Baja California, Mexico

Ordos Museum by MAD Architects in Inner Mongolia, China

Amangiri Resort & Spa designed by Wendell Burnette Architects

Foster + Partners Carbon Neutral City in Masdar

 Beresheet Hotel in Mizpe Ramon, a town in the Negev desert of southern Israel

Tadao Ando's ranch designed for Tom Ford in Santa Fe, New Mexico

Hotel Elqui Domos by Duque Motta

Acido Dorado by Robert Stone in Joshua Tree

 Motril Footbridge by Guallart Architects in Motril, Spain

Amusement park in the Iranian mountains photographed by Rama Knight