vir.mueller architects

Framed against the majestic Taosmountain in New Mexico, and situated adjacent to Taos Pueblo reservation land, this residence aligns with dramatic views in the high desert landscape. Designed for a couple – a painter and a corporate executive – the project has been organized as two primary volumes framing the Taos peak. A garage with painting studio above, and primary residence with living room, kitchen – dining and master suite, comprise the two volumes. Sculpting the house into the landscape permits the cultivation of a sunken garden – an oasis protected from high velocity winds that erode the desert surface. The buildings are to be constructed of load-bearing, insulated concrete walls, cold rolled steel structural columns, polished concrete floors, and insulated plate glass sliding windows. The insulated roof is planted with indigenous wild grasses. The house seeks to fulfill the clients’desire to ‘have the sky float through the house.’