Turkel Design’s Axiom Desert House is part research project, part livable home

When Joel and Meelena Turkel started designing their new home in Palm Springs, California, there was only one way they were going to approach it. The architects and co-founders of Boston architectural firm Turkel Design are known for turning prefabricated parts into luxuriously designed homes, and their own home was going to be no different.

The Axiom Desert Home is part of the studio’s Axiom series, which uses a prefabricated panelized building system to construct gorgeously mid-century modern silhouettes that can be customized and altered. The Desert Home bends into a low-slung L-shape, echoing many of the classic mid-century houses in Palm Springs. The duo modernized their design with clean lines, modern materials, and some clever ways to open the interior to the exterior.

The net-zero house is split into separate areas—the master suite comprises one side of the house while the children’s bedrooms and den is on the other. Shared living spaces like the living room, dining room, and kitchen sit in between and create a seamless connection to the back patio. In the living room a deep “living platform” lines the wall like a giant daybed, while the windows slide open completely to create a large rectangular opening to the patio. Likewise, the kitchen doors slide open to extend the dining room onto to a concrete patio next to the pool.