From Christie's Portfolio—Invisible House, a Mirrored House Blending in with the Desert Scenery of Joshua Tree

Completed in 2019 by architect Tomas Osinski, this unique house takes advantage of the park’s special landscape and relies on art for inspiration, anchored in minimalist shapes and the menhir from Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). The house is dynamic—it changes throughout the day as it reacts to the amount of daylight and at night glows like the works of Dan Flavin or James Turrell. With an environmentally friendly approach and 90% independent from the power grid, Invisible House is not just a luxury home, but also a nature retreat. 

Hanley’s wife, Roberta, deliberately selected furniture that was minimalist in style but of excellent quality, sticking to gray tones to ensure that it blends in with the floors to keep the focus on the natural world outside its windows. The main bedroom boasts a two-ton bed made of solid glass by the Milanese design company Santambrogio.

Another dominant feature of the interior is the 100-meter freshwater pool with HTP solar heating, programmable LED lights, and an audio system that is also connected to the living room. Not just a sought-after facility for exercise and relaxation, the pool also provides the right level of humidity to keep the skin hydrated in the desert.

As for the decision to sell Invisible House, “It’s like when you create a movie—you can’t live in your own art," says Chris. This multi-talented artist has dreamt up several new projects, including Starburst House, a collaboration with the British architect James Whitaker. On the other side of the mountain range in Joshua Tree, the home is composed of 21 cargo-container-like prisms in a sputnik shape.