Client: Private Residence
Location: Mountain Air, NM.
Improvement Area: 900 SF
Design Started: 1999
Construction Complete: 2009
Construction Cost: $36,000

Designed as a second, weekend getaway for a private client in the high plains of New Mexico. Situated on a large parcel of land, privacy and seclusion were key to the clients’ needs. Miles from roads, this house was designed to take into account the expansive views provided to the high plains to the south & east and key views of the Sandia Mountains to the north & west.

Due to the remoteness of the project site, built with the earth that the house is situated on, 18” thick rammed-earth walls comprise the main structural & aesthetic design considerations. An offset curved metal roof with a lower overhang on the south side to provide shade in the hot summers, allows full sun penetration through the full-height windows in the winter. Smaller, staggered windows on the north provide a minimal of heat-loss on the north while providing specialized, key views.

An open plan within a minimized footprint provides ultimate interior flexibility of uses. With an integrated partial second story loft for the bedroom. Featuring hand-picked client fixtures for the kitchen & bathroom. With a cast-iron stove for the singular purpose of heat in the winter, this sustainable designed residence required no heating or cooling due to extensive cross-ventilation and the thick rammed-earth walls as heat-sinks.

Folded steel staircase on a single spine.