Shadow House, New Mexico by Antoine Predock Architect

The Shadow House located in the high desert of Santa Fe, New Mexico, designed by Antoine Predock Architect for two physicians, overlooks the Jemez Mountains and embodies the landscape’s dualities of ineffable space and introspective solace.

Tradition and materiality are immediately present in the eastern entry through a formal foyer inside the entry sequence’s cast-in-place concrete tower. The early settler’s earth floors are recalled here. The foyer’s earth floor is paired with a suspended glass prism, edge-lit by the sun. The entry sequence tower is the origin, a passage, spanning the length of the residence and, at the northern extreme, framing the Jemez peaks.

Sequenced rooms flank the passage, an extension of the adjoining spaces. The kitchen, all-purpose room and sunroom ascend the slope of the site, flanking the entry sequence. Continuing the procession, the water court, charges the living spaces with the sound of water rushing over stone. This plane slopes downward to meet the passage and is framed by the living and dining room. A concrete fireplace, the element of fire, is counterpoint to earth and water.

Further down the passage, a gallery hall leads upward to the guest quarters. A study follows in sequence. The crafted wood study displays a collection of artifacts. Opposite the study is a meditation courtyard.

Obscure glass divides the private bedroom areas from the public domain, with bathroom and bedroom across the corridor, with both open views of the Jemez peaks. Adjacent to the meditation courtyard, a Tatami room is separated by a partition from the bedroom. The Shadow House is a journey through the desert, bridging sunrise and sunset.

Antoine Predock Architect:
ALBUQUERQUE STUDIO
300 12TH STREET NW
ALBUQUERQUE, NM 87102
tel: (505) 843-7390
fax: (505) 243-6254
email: studio@apredock.com
website: www.predock.com