El Paso Project
The site is a stunning lot on a hillside overlooking the city. We envisioned a house that seemingly started out as a solid cube and then was carved and sliced away by light, in plan section and elevation, so that what was a solid became transparent in key locations revealing the views. Planes of concrete, distressed metal, water and sandblasted glass are pushed and pulled away from each other, or overlap in intriguing ways. Some planes are cantilevered overhead out into space while others are anchored below your feet into the ground. Interlocking planes gradually come into view as one approaches the house up over the curve of the hill. The initial impression being that the house is tucked into the hillside, until one flows through the house toward the view and it’s gradually revealed that the house extends out toward the arroyo in the middle distance with the city stretched out beyond.