The hour-long drive from Palm Springs, California—which includes winding roads into the Santa Rosa Mountains, with dramatic views around every turn—provides some foreshadowing of what visitors will find at High Desert Retreat, the latest house by San Francisco architects Aidlin Darling. But on arrival, when you pass through the property’s gate and head down the long driveway, these expectations are defied, at least initially. What you first encounter is a pair of mute perpendicular poured-in-place concrete walls. A volume clad in charcoal-black wood and an overhanging flat roof peek out from behind them, providing a hint of habitation, while a small water feature and glazed void signal the entrance. But there is no spectacular vista.