Marfa Ranch

And, just beyond the edge of town, on a large expansive ranch, lies the Marfa Ranch, a place of simple beauty and near perfect isolation. At about a mile above sea level, the clean dry air of this high desert grassland produces an intensity of color and crispness of shade and shadow that is invigorating. Summers are pleasant with cool nights and, with generous shade, tolerable days. The rain is sparse, and when it does show up it can come as a deluge, a monsoon as the locals call it. It is a beautiful place, but this open flat land demands a thoughtful arrangement of rooms and practical approach to materials to enjoy its challenging environment.

Borrowing from the area’s earliest structures, the rooms of the house are organized around a courtyard, a cool respite from the sun-drenched desert grasslands beyond the walls. The courtyard is shaded by the dappled light of native mesquite trees with a small fount of collected rainwater that completes the oasis-like quality of this key outdoor room. To keep the house cool during the hot summers and warm in the winters, the house is built of two-foot-thick walls of rammed earth. And unlike a traditional walled-off courtyard house, where the occupants want to keep the outdoors at bay, this house embraces the expansive landscape with lightweight breezeways and porches made of recycled oil field pipe.

Situated on a low rise with dramatic views in all directions, the house cuts a low profile, settling naturally into its desert surroundings. The thick walls protect the house from the extremes of the region—the heat, cold, and wind while the breezeways and a mirador, perched above the main bedroom, connect the visitor with the remarkable landscape beyond. Furthering the connection to the larger landscape is a long boardwalk that reaches out and unites the house with an old metal stock tank, the site’s only built structure. This tank-turned-pool sits open, surrounded by the endless desert grasslands and the vast sky above.