The mandate was clear: design a house that offers privacy from the outside world but opens up to gardens and terraces within its confines. The solution was a familiar one for the setting in Andalusian Spain, where inward-facing patio houses speak of a Moorish heritage. However, in conceiving a vacation retreat for a family of four in Marbella, on the palmy Costa del Sol, Swiss architect Gus W'stemann has avoided the arcaded courtyards and red-tile roofs typical of the region. He has kept the general idea, but emphasizes the abstracted masses and voids seen in his other work, such as the muscular concrete residence Two Verandas in Zurich. The client, a European businessman, had been coming to the resort for 20 years to enjoy golf and spend time with friends and family. When he decided to build a new home there, he was drawn to the strong geometries and complex play of light and shadow in W'stemann's architecture.

While Marbella's sunny weather, sandy Mediterranean beaches, and breaking surf account for its popularity, the picturesque village had fewer than 1,000 residents right after World War II. During the 1960s and '70s, it became the haven for the so-called jet set, a migratory social flock of aristocrats, showbiz people, and rich political exiles. Attracting such 'beautiful people' as Prince Alfonso von Hohenlohe, Sean Connery, and former Cuban dictator Fugencio Batista y Zaldivar, Marbella grew as others followed: today the population is over 140,000. It is good to be able to withdraw behind garden walls.