The Black Lake House, sited on a spectacular 7.5 acre site in Black Lake, New Mexico, explores concepts of spatial simultaneity within domestic spatial experiences along the thresholds of an aspen and fir tree forest, a 'theatrical' meadow, and southwestern skyscapes.

Within the house, kitchen, dining and living spaces are linked and open to each other such that they act as one space while simultaneously allowing unique volumetric spatial properties for each room.  Planes of blackened steel extend from the eastern exterior facade and unfold into an open staircase connecting the main level to the second floor above. This extension of the steel from interior to exterior reflects the site into a dynamic abstraction of color and texture. A blackened steel fireplace open to both living and dining spaces, allows the elemental material of fire during dining and gathering while providing a slight separation between the two spaces.

Materially, the project targets a rustic modernism. Timeless, natural materials of wood, glass, stone, and steel are used as agents of this idea throughout the spaces. Interior ceiling and floor planes are equally executed in wide-plank white oak boards. Walnut cabinetry is deployed throughout the house as tailored micro-architecture at the eastern kitchen wall, northern living room, and master bedroom closet. Each of the house's bathing spaces are elementally connected by the use of travertine stone as a bathing surface. Within the master bathing space, cedar boards wrap the space to provide a meditative experience that synaesthetically engages the senses.

Outside, a courtyard deck between master bedroom, hallway, and dining, contains a recessed spa flanked by two mature, arborist selected aspens piercing through the deck. The elevated courtyard and roof decks engage with the aspens at their limbs and leaves acting as an elevated garden of seasonal shifts framing a specific awareness of atmospheric change.

As an architectural idea, the Black Lake House sets a specific intention to construct a framework of moments that bring an awareness of how we engage with and relate to the space that surrounds us.