New Mexico House    |    Northern New Mexico

Built on the steep grade of an isolated five-acre site, the house is carefully oriented to take advantage of extraordinary northern views of the Taos Mountains and eastern views of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Set among moss rock walls and terraces, the four-bedroom stucco-clad house with attached guest wing is home to an avid art collector and accommodates lengthy visits from family. The principle rooms of the main house are assembled along a gallery hallway that extends from the entrance to the guest wing. Brick and wood floors, heavy timber beamed ceilings, painted wall surfaces and colonial-era tile from Mexico are subtle nods to the interior architecture of the region. The primary public spaces and bedrooms look out beyond terraces and gardens to the endless views, while a front garden adjacent to the entry and a large garden at the kitchen and covered portal provide intimate outdoor spaces. The bright New Mexico sunlight illuminates and sharply defines the exterior volumes and planes in contrast with the subdued, intentionally diffused, indirect light of the interior spaces.

• Cistern for Irrigation
• Featured In: Texas Architect, March/April, 1996