{"id":84964,"date":"2026-04-10T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/?p=84964"},"modified":"2026-04-09T17:54:30","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T00:54:30","slug":"ben-uyeda-reset-hotel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/ben-uyeda-reset-hotel\/","title":{"rendered":"Architecture, Product Design, and Media Converge: Ben Uyeda Creates a Modern Desert Escape with RESET Hotel"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

You could say Ben Uyeda is the definition of convergence. After a highly successful career as an architect and sustainability lecturer at Cornell University, he took a leap to focus on both architecture and product design. Along the way, he built successful media businesses, from free, sustainable home designs available online to HomeMadeModern<\/a> that features accessible DIY projects and now boasts more than 1.65 million subscribers on YouTube.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just recently, Uyeda finished one of his most ambitious endeavors yet. Deep in the California desert, RESET Hotel<\/a> is the first hotel built near Joshua Tree National Park in 15 years. This isn\u2019t your typical destination. He and his collaborators with design firm Gry Space had a radical vision for a desert retreat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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RESET Hotel. Courtesy of Ben Uyeda.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The 180-acre property transports visitors to a natural experience that many compare to visiting Mars right here on Earth. The accommodations deliver their own otherworldly, modern experience. Designed with Autodesk Revit<\/a> and Autodesk Fusion<\/a> along with Naya Studio<\/a>, the 65 modular units showcase a minimalist aesthetic defined by clean lines and a seamless connection to the desert landscape. A stunning saltwater pool, restaurant, communal lounges, and an evolving collection of outdoor art installations encompass the property, encouraging guests to explore and connect in the surrounding desert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sustainability and impact were imperative for design and operations. The team used Columbia Forest products, specifically domestic low VOC sustainable sheet goods, and employed local manufacturing for furniture and millwork. Passive solar design was integral, and a ground-up package sewage treatment plant brought an entirely new infrastructure to the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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RESET room including desk designed with Fusion. Courtesy of Ben Uyeda.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n

One YouTube series inspires an entire desert escape<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n

RESET didn\u2019t happen overnight. And it certainly didn\u2019t start with the scope of a traditional built project. The first venture was a YouTube series on how to convert a shipping container into a residence. For that project, he used Revit for the design and Fusion to model different details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat series had about 20 million views across 10 episodes, which is about three times more than what an HGTV show gets,\u201d Uyeda says. \u201cIt actually led to the hotel because investors saw that and they said, \u2018Hey, let’s scale this up.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RESET was designed with Revit, from the steel modular units to an entire sewage treatment plant. Fusion played a key role in the details, such as custom surface windows for the outdoor bar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur fabrication team designed these windows from scratch in Fusion and were able to model them completely to where everything was working,\u201d Uyeda says. \u201cWe were able to test the counterweights and damping systems. We could take these design files right to the laser cutter to cut out parts. The Fusion model and detail can go directly into the Revit model, so that\u2019s really cool.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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RESET room including sofa designed with Fusion. Courtesy of Ben Uyeda.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Bespoke furniture is a hallmark of RESET. In fact, Uyeda and his small team designed more than 200 pieces of furniture with Fusion. Throughout the design and construction phases, Uyeda regularly released social media updates and DIY videos. Anyone visiting RESET can know the experience of how that sofa or bed in the room was designed and made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n