This El Paso compound required a master plan that melded the existing house and property with a new 1-acre property and new architecture for entertaining and new living space. The spare aesthetic of our client and new building required simple outdoor spaces with quite different responses depending on the location of the courtyard. The entry and parking court is defined by gabion freestanding walls with concrete and steel planters filled with tough, desert cactus and mesquites. The entry walk is elevated from the parking area as one proceeds to the front door. Other small courts share this drought tolerant aesthetic while the sheltered central courtyard space is the oasis with a pool, lawn, and shade trees for the client’s big family and entertaining.