Detail Matters: House on Taos

The House on Taos, designed by Mitchell Garman Architects, is a 4,700-square-foot, five-bedroom, 4½-bath home in a quiet neighborhood. The original parti of the home was conceived from the simple homestead roots of the client in the traditional form of a house with four walls and a pitched roof. Through client feedback, and concerns that the design “looked like a barn,” the form of the project evolved: “We folded the proverbial house shape, lowered the pitch of the roof and created a compound of separate structures for each living component connected by glass corridors,” said Sean Garman, AIA, a partner at Mitchell Garman Architects.

The lower roof pitch allows for a waterfall effect, naturally pulling the standing-seam metal roof panel profile down onto the thermally efficient exterior walls. This detail uses the roof to shield the exterior of the house from the public, as well from environmental factors like rain and sun, while opening the occupants’ view to the interior courtyard and pool. The irregular profile of the standing-seam roof has been designed intentionally to provide a rhythm among the simple palette of regional building materials.

PROJECT TEAM

ARCHITECT: Mitchell Garman Architects
GENERAL CONTRACTOR: Hartman Construction
STRUCTURAL DESIGN: The Reedy Group
LANDSCAPE DESIGN: Martinez & Associates

Janet Spees, Assoc. AIA, is project manager at Merriman Anderson Architects.