Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico
Area: 2,500 square feet
Award
2017 Winner Harnar Architecture Award
Architect: Specht Architects
Landscape Architect: James David
Interior Design: Norine Hayes
Contractor: Wolf Corp
Photography: © Taggart Sorensen
This ridgetop house in Santa Fe is organized around two perpendicular board-formed concrete walls. The walls are an element of continuity, linking interior and exterior spaces and the landscape beyond. A narrow skylight runs the entire 125’ length of one of the walls, casting changing shadows on the rough concrete over the span of the day.
The front of the house is set deeply into the earth. You enter through a recessed courtyard and into a cool, private vestibule. An opening cut into one of the concrete walls then leads you into the main body of the house, where panoramic views of the Sangre de Christos mountains are revealed. Although there are large expanses of glass, they are all deeply shaded by cantilevered roof forms that create porches around the perimeter.
The house enhances a feeling of connection to the site, both physically, and temporally, and provides a true sense of shelter.
Specht Architects
All images courtesy of Specht Architects | © Taggart Sorensen
Specht Architects
Scott is the founding principal at Specht Architects with over 25 years of experience designing and managing institutional, commercial, and residential projects. Before founding Specht Architects (formerly known as Specht Harpman), he worked as a senior designer for Daniel Libeskind Architect and collaborated with that office on its winning New York World Trade Center master planning proposal. He also worked for several years with Kohn Pedersen Fox and Associates Architects in New York, and was the Designer on a number of tall building projects around the world, including the Chifley Square project in Sydney, Australia, and the Niaga Bank headquarters in Jakarta, Indonesia. He is a licensed architect in Texas and New York, is NCARB certified, and is a member of the American Institute of Architects.
Scott received his Master of Architecture degree from Yale University, where he received the George Nelson Scholarship and the Franklin W. Gregory Scholarship.
In addition to his work with Specht Architects, Scott was a featured speaker at TEDx, and his independent design work has been exhibited in two SoHo gallery shows. His design work has also been publicly featured at a Yale University exhibition, the Van Alen Institute, the Municipal Art Society of New York, and the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council.
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CONTACT
Specht Architects
Austin, Texas
3500 Oakmont Boulevard
Suite 101
Austin, TX 78731
512.382.7938
Dallas, Texas
3100 Commerce St.
Suite 39
Dallas, TX 75226
512.382.7938
New York, New York
32 Broadway
Penthouse
New York, NY 10004
212.239.1150
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