Home Architecture FUNCTIONAL DESIGN FOR A NEW ERA

FUNCTIONAL DESIGN FOR A NEW ERA

The open-air living space/entry frames a view of the Ortiz Mountains and the property’s namesake windmill. Despite the solidity of the rammed-earth structure, it is pervaded by an airy openness that blurs the line between indoor and outdoor living, showcasing the distinctive palette of materials—rammed earth, steel beams, and rusted corrugated metal—that give the structure an organic feel. This space is usable as a living room three seasons a year—or more during a mild winter.

BY NANCY ZIMMERMAN | PHOTOS BY PETER OGILVIE

Autotroph founder Alexander Dzurec at his Marcy
Street studio. The space was redesigned to create
a more flexible, organic working area.

Even before the advent of COVID-19, architects had already begun adapting their designs to accommodate changes in the way we live today. Instead of the hermetically sealed buildings of the past, new design trends bring us brighter, lighter spaces that capitalize on fresh air, outdoor living areas, and flexible floor plans that can be adapted and revised to create privacy and separation when needed.

These principles find form at Santa Fe–based Autotroph Design Studio, where a team of architects creates attractive, livable, environmentally friendly spaces that look beyond the building sites to the larger world. The firm’s diverse array of projects includes “everything from private residences to arts venues to office buildings and entire communities,” says founder Alex Dzurec. “We’ve even designed a spaceship.”

The through-line in all of Autotroph’s designs, Dzurec says, is the goal to foster connections—between structures and their sites, between the sites and their surroundings, and among the people who live, work, and play in these spaces. Achieving this goal entails adaptability, portability, and mobility, which apply to both the buildings themselves and the lifestyles of those who occupy them.

A recent residential project in the Galisteo Basin demonstrates that flexible living spaces can enhance the quality of life within a home, and a connection to the surrounding natural world improves the health and well-being of the residents. Named La Molina for the windmill that adorns the horizon, the home’s singular feature is an outdoor living room that also serves as the foyer for entry to the house, with other sections of the home connecting to the open-air space as well, which in turn provides a link to the site’s broad views.

“What really excited me about the project was the opportunity to connect the site to the larger landscape around
it,” Dzurec recalls. “Rammed earth has a striated look and it resembles the rock formations in that area—abstract but not literal. Our goal was to make it seem as though the residence grew organically from the landscape, and to connect to the landscape through the sightlines.”

This process of integration—of house and landscape, of indoors and out—brings a contemporary aesthetic to ancient building methods and materials, providing an elegant and deceptively simple reinterpretation of how the built environment can respond to the demands of a changing world.

The design of the main house was flipped and rotated to accommodate two 500-square-foot, one-bedroom guest casitas connected by a breezeway/ open-air living space. The guest wing is thus a mini-version of the larger home. The deep overhang shades the windows from the summer sun.
What was originally intended to be a purely architectural element was transformed into a trough-like water feature that works as an evaporative cooler. As the light winds flow across it into the breezeway of the outdoor living room the air is cooled, creating a kind of natural air conditioning.
The entire complex was designed to work with the homeowner’s existing art collection, with some pieces working as architectural features. In the owner’s bathroom, her tiled screen was incorporated as a room divider, while two pieces of ornamental metal tie the elements together. The tub was situated to provide a view of the on-site temple and wandering paddock path.
The bathroom’s design includes a mitered corner window that opens up the view from the tub to the landscape beyond, creating the sensation of bathing outdoors. Sliding glass doors open onto a portal.
Left: The powder room features an African carved bowl that serves as a sink. The owner’s decorative bronze partition, which was created from a piece of metal found in one of the old mining camps in the nearby Ortiz Mountains, and the wall sconce were integrated into the design. A corner shelf displays a collection of small ceramics, part of a set of Meissen porcelain that is a family heirloom.

Right: Care was taken in the kitchen to allow room for the owner’s art pieces. Autotroph took advantage of the recent piñon die-off resulting from a bark beetle infestation to reclaim the dead wood to warm up the compact but capacious space. The ceramic statues, which come from India, represent the ten incarnations of the god Vishnu.
Left: Owner Kristina Flanagan insisted on building a well-ventilated, well-lit stable without stalls so the horses could socialize better. Movable wall panels make it possible to create separation for horses that need isolation because of illness or injury, but otherwise they are free to move around. “Horses are herd animals, and they need to be able to interact with each other,” Flanagan says. The clerestory windows let in abundant light, while openings on both sides of the stable provide light and ventilation. Art on the walls brightens the ambience still further.

Right: Flanagan’s happy horses respond to her gentle training methods. “Because they’re part of a herd, they see me only as that two-legged creature that brings them food. They entertain and care for each other, so I’m not a part of their social life. It’s a more natural lifestyle for them.”
Left: At dusk the guest casitas take on a cozy, welcoming glow. They’re situated a short distance from the main house to create separation and privacy for visitors.

Right: The northern façade of the owner’s suite is open to the vast surrounding vistas. This wing includes a bedroom, a bathroom, and a flexible living space that can function as a sitting room, an office, or a studio. R
Previous articleEUREKA!
Next articleREFLECTIONS

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR