Desert design : re-thinking the adobe

Abstract

The focus of this thesis is the relationship between the natural landscape and the architecture of northern New Mexico. Through the design of a home and work-related out-buildings elements of reference are used to preserve an interplay between the landscape and the architecture. A dialogue between the largeness of the landscape and the comparative smallness of the human scale is maintained through the use of references such as walls, columns and gateways. Additionally, this thesis explores the multiple roles of these references in exploring the function of transitions (inside to outside and outside to inside) . The architectural history of northern New Mexico as well as current building trends inform the thinking and the design presented. Materials such as pumice, wood, stone and concrete are used to understand the different ways materials interact with tile landscape and how they cue experienced in relation to the landscape.