LOS RANCHOS RESIDENCE
Devendra Narayan Contractor, AIA & Deirdre Harris, AIA | DNCA llc
This home for a family of art collectors celebrates views of the Sandia Mountains while respecting the rural context of the Village of Los Ranchos.
Compositionally, the project is an interplay of solid and void, of overlapping planes and masses. The structure reaches out into the landscape with a series of walls and terraces, softening the interface between house and site. The house pays homage to the vernacular tradition of compound; courtyards and trellises are used to define functional and privacy zones while providing a patchwork of animated light and shadow patterns.
The entry sequence and public experience of the house occur in tall spaces defined by raw, earthbound concrete walls; the more private and scaled down spaces of the home flank the central public spaces. The site design interweaves an agricultural orchard on one side of the house and a Bosque meadow landscape on the other.
Features
Location – Albuquerque, NM
Completed – June 2016
Building Area – 6,740 s.f.
Structure – Cast in place concrete with wood and steel framing
Major Materials and Systems – Cast in place concrete, exposed concrete slab,
limestone pavers, steel shade and trellis structures, painted sheetrock, aromatic and western red cedar cladding and soffits, and cement stucco exterior.
Site Features – Entry sculpture courtyard with acequia water feature,
meadow with fruit orchard, half-size soccer field, swimming pool,
play area for children, vegetable garden, and a phased conversion
of an existing alfalfa field into a native Bosque habitat.