By Alyssa Abkowitz | The Wall Street Journal
Santa Fe, N.M., has long attracted throngs of tourists drawn to the city’s distinctive architectural style: Pueblo-revival homes with thick, clay-colored adobe walls made of earth, water and straw. Strict building codes ensure that the city’s central districts don’t stray far from this aesthetic. Walls must be rounded, colors must be muted, windows must be small.
The problem: These older traditional structures can be small, cramped and dark—just the opposite of what many modern homebuyers are looking for.
Now, a new wave of contemporary homes is springing up around the city’s less regulated outer edges, transforming the once uniform landscape and pushing southwestern design in new directions. Glints of glass and steel are now dotting the city’s earth-toned desert surroundings.
In July, Charles and Marilyn Hertz moved into their $3.5 million custom-built contemporary home in the Galisteo Basin Preserve on the outskirts of Santa Fe. The 6,500-square-foot gray-green home, which is designed in a pinwheel arrangement, has an eye-popping red wall that intersects the space. After looking around town and seeing homes that were “dated and a little boring,” Mr. Hertz says he and his wife decided on a “Zen-like Southwestern approach.”
