Poised at the edge of a one-hundred-mile view – badlands in the foreground, the tail end of the Rockies rising beyond – the Placitas house frames a cinematic sweep of the rugged high desert landscape. Perched on the rim of the Rio Grande Rift in the foothills of the Sandia Mountains, a winding concrete wall emerges from strata of ancient red sandstone and pale limestone, guiding the internal journey through the site.
From above, the house reads as a serpentine creature, a “dinosaur back” offering the earth a curvilinear embrace oriented to the dramatic eastern vista. Anchored to the wind-swept ridge with structural steel and earth toned board formed concrete, its handmade steel shingles create a shimmering, ever-changing skin incarnated (or illuminated) by the sun’s path.
The spatial choreography of this retreat for a couple and their young family becomes a diurnal passage through seasonal rhythms of light and shadow. Austere, west-facing concrete walls absorb the warm tones of sunset, while generous east-facing glazing captures and animates light throughout the day. The home becomes an instrument for reflecting and imbibing illuminated landscape.
Merging with the steep ridge, the great room sits at the highest point, while guest suites and private studies descend north and south. Each space is carefully oriented toward land and sky, its views of the badlands and mountains tempered by pocket courtyards that introduce privacy and curated settings for art.
