Texas is perhaps one of America's most stereotype-laden states, yet this house in El Paso clearly belongs to neither redneck nor cowboy. Geometrically precise while at the same time growing organically into the mountain ridge, it rises 250 metres above the urban landscape amid the canyons of the Franklin Mountains.
Designed by hazelbaker rush for a family with children, the project pays homage to traditional crafts and to that sense of rootedness in the land — an idea largely foreign to city dwellers. The rough stone surrounding the house is domesticated, shaped into terraces planted with grasses and succulents. The south-facing wall looks out over a deep valley with a dried-up stream, where eagles and hawks soar through the afternoons and evenings, while mornings may bring a deer or rabbit drawn by the flora the owners have lovingly cultivated. The living room commands a sweeping, almost futuristic view of the sunset, backlit from the south by the evening lights of Ciudad Juárez. The house functions as a small ecosystem — enclosed in a shell of stone and glass, yet woven seamlessly into the mountains, valleys and canyons of El Paso.
All three floors of the building are embedded into the mountain massif, and nearby stands an abandoned quartz mine — crystals of quartz are scattered across the entire eastern face of the canyon above which the house sits. It was this pale, translucent quartz that inspired the architects' vision for the building. The upper floors, which house the bedrooms and lounges, are finished in traditional white lime plaster, while the lower section is clad in rough grey basalt that echoes the mountain landscape all around. From a distance, the ground floor appears to merge with its surroundings, leaving the upper storeys to float above the ridgeline.
The choice of materials for the house reflects the cultural and industrial milestones of El Paso and the state of Texas. Stonemasonry, the proximity of the railroad, and even the city's cowboy heritage gave the architects the means to introduce basalt, steel, and leather into the interior. Darcy Hazelbaker and Dale Rush believe that what makes a design good is not adherence to the abstract notion of 'making something beautiful', but rather a coherence that binds objects and ideas, native histories and contemporary technologies, nature and the human being — formed by it and, in turn, forming from it.
If you enjoyed seeing how contemporary architecture conquers extraordinary heights, we recommend taking a look at our previously published project — a house in the mountains by OFIS Architects.
