At the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja Peninsula, where the Pacific Ocean meets the Sea of Cortez, lies Cabo San Lucas, a desert coastal town celebrated for its striking natural landscape. Among its notable developments is Casa Finisterra, a distinctive residence perched on a cliff within Pedregal, a luxury gated community often likened to the Beverly Hills of Cabo.
The house was conceived in 1997 when George David Weiss, a songwriter, and his wife Claire Weiss, a fashion industry figure, purchased a quarter-acre plot overlooking the sea. They enlisted New York City architect Steven Harris, along with Lucien Rees Roberts, his interior designer partner, and landscape designer Margie Ruddick from Germantown, New York, to design the property. The trio had previously collaborated on residences for the couple in New Jersey and New Mexico.
Completed in 2001, Casa Finisterra—meaning "House at Land’s End"—is a 7,500-square-foot, five-bedroom structure built into the natural rock formation. Its U-shaped reinforced concrete design features hidden skylights, clerestory windows, and expansive laminated glass walls that frame expansive views of the Pacific Ocean. The house’s entrance was intentionally designed to obscure ocean views until one descends through the garden courtyard, creating a “delayed gratification” experience, according to Harris. The courtyard itself is a desert-inspired oasis, incorporated with native granite boulders, desert plants, a small reflecting pool, and outdoor living space.
Ruddick’s landscaping approach departed from typical resort landscaping by emphasizing the natural desert biome rather than creating a tropical oasis. Her original design integrated resilient native cacti and succulents, selected after extensive study with Weiss in the early 2000s to endure Baja’s harsh heat and seasonal hurricanes. The planting scheme sought to blur the boundary between the residence and the surrounding desert hills.
However, upon revisiting the property in April 2025 for a 25th-anniversary celebration hosted by Weiss, Ruddick found that nonnative fountain grasses introduced by local landscape managers had spread widely, overwhelming the intended desert vegetation. She enlisted the help of the Luna Cabo Property Management Company to remove these invasive species and initiated plans to restore the garden’s original character while enhancing its sculptural qualities.
In June 2025, Ruddick and Weiss returned to Cabo to revitalize the plantings. Drawing inspiration from Weiss’s collection of vintage David Webb jewelry, Ruddick curated a selection of desert plants with striking three-dimensional forms. Working with Baja nursery owner Heriberto Parra Hale, they sourced species such as golden barrel cactus, crested brain cactus, various Euphorbias, prickly pear with vibrant red flowers, and other succulent varieties. These selections were intended not only to revive the garden’s desert roots but also to introduce new patterns and rhythms that complement the original design.
The efforts yielded an ecological response; by November 2025, Weiss reported the return of orioles to the garden, an indication of renewed biodiversity. Ruddick emphasized the need for patience and responsiveness to the environment when designing in foreign landscapes, noting that successful gardens require ongoing adaptation guided by the plants themselves.
Casa Finisterra stands as a testament to the integration of modern architecture with desert ecology, reflecting a carefully considered relationship between built form and natural surroundings at the edge of the desert and sea.