new ranch home Galisteo Basin Preserve, New Mexico

The house and landscape intertwine. The property affords a number of excellent views to the distant horizon, and like many settings in the southwest; there is a low lying horizontality to the adjacent topography. As such, we intentionally wanted to express that in the architecture. The northern portion of the house is carved into the land several feet; to express a rootedness to the earth, while the southern portion rises to meet the panoramic views. The character of the home is distinctly contemporary, which accentuates and focuses attention on the organic features of the land, which are embraced by the architecture. By adhering to, yet abstracting, the underlying principles of the southwestern vernacular, with its lean, almost Zen-like simplicity, the architecture allows the views to the natural environment to dominate. The stark contrast between the manmade architecture and natural scenery complement both.