A thread that isn't about design fakes or knockoff websites  

Qui, would be...
Qui, would be interesting...even if my first impressions are that it resembles much of what is already being done. Weren't you planning on doing some blog entries for the site?

Certainly interesting,...
Certainly interesting, Olive. It looks like there might be some very nice and unique spaces from the couple photos you've shown, but difficult to tell. I wonder how the sheds drain - it almost looks like there is a seperation between the two roofs. The interior space you show looks good. I'm not fond of the upper window mosaic. And the exterior paint color and exposed joinery gives the place that Taco Bell look, but all workable. I thought you were looking at building a conservation-minded prefab. But finding a suitable residence already available is obviously a very green choice as well. Best of luck to you, either way.

this place isn't for sale
I'm just going to take a tour of this architect's work. I agree that the colors are a bit much, but that's Santa Fe for you. EVERYTHING is done in these types of colors including McDonalds and Bank of America. It gets a bit annoying. Belive it or not, this house is pretty unique for this area. 99% of what's built out here is adobe or faux-dobe and very 'southwest' style, which I despise.
This is actually a very green house. The butterfly roof line is for a rain catchment system, so is the shed-roofed garage. The windows are for passive solar gain. I think there are SIPs used for the wall construction as well. There's more, which I'll learn about today. This is a good place to start in seeing what's feasible for my budget.
Yes, I am suppossed to be blogging all this, but it seems I never find the time!
And PS...this architect has done a home here for Neutra's grandson. Follow the link...
http://www.kinseyarchitecture.com/conradresidence.html

Neutra's grandson did not...
Neutra's grandson did not inherit Richard's taste. Bleh!
R. Neutra is my absolute favorite architect. How could his grandson look at this house and compare to his grandfather's work and not gag?

Sometimes
for an individual it just get to be time to "turn the page" ?

From
Olive's comments I'm guessing there are restrictions forcing building in the vernacular style ?

I get"turning the page." But...
I get"turning the page." But stories are supposed to get better as you go along, not worse. I wouldn't expect a copy ... but something comparable in execution.

Wow, I'm surprised at the negative reactions...
especially from you, whitespike. I've always thought that you and I had very similar sensibilities. I truly think you'd like these homes if you saw them.
So some thoughts...
Northern New Mexico is a challenging climate to build homes in. First, you have the environmental stuff, broad temperature ranges, dusty and strong summer winds, pounding rain storms and cold, snowy winters. Add to that the contant factor of intense sunshine 300+ days a year. No surprise that a deeply entrenched local vernacular style resulted. And that style is rabidly defended by the locals. Almost every structure out here adhers to the 'santafe' style in some way.
So you can see that there are a lot of reasons that homes out here look the way they do. Modernists find themselves needing to conform to exterior styles to get permits and keeping certain design features in order to maintain an environmentally sound house. In the case of the Neutra house, it had to conform to a style of a coal mining town that looks like a movie set and has in fact been used as one. Personally, I like what this architect does with the limited range of forms and colors he has in his arsenal. And he uses off-the-shelf materials, reclaimed and reused stuff and other things I admire and desire in my 'green' home-to-be.
I really liked the house I saw today. It was intellgently laid out and the owners really enjoy living in it. I also thought it had good siting on the land. It framed the views beautifully and took advantage of the abundant sun and wind to naturally heat a cool the house. The finishes were really attractive. Concrete floors with radiant heating. An open kitchen with minimal upper cabinetry so that the cook has great views. The bedroom was simple, serene and loaded with storage.
One final thing I noticed, the colors of all the photos I've shown above are way off tone-wise. What I saw today was far more muted than what is shown here. The house was lovely. Colorful, but not bright.
So there's my thoughts...

I
hope you didn't think my comments about the vernacular were negative
I think vernacular is a wonderful thing.
..and if someone makes the effort to marry it with sustainability and Eco issues, then all the better

I like the first house fine. ...
I like the first house fine. It's the Neutra that I don't care for ... at least with the limited photos. I wouldn't mind seeing the interior. Additionally, the information you added in your last post does help me to appreciate the design more ... although I wouldn't say it is to my personal taste.

I saw pix of the Neutra interior...
Richard's spirit lives on in there, have no fear. Common around here, the outside belying the insides. Kinda weird, but that's how it goes out here. I guess it takes time being here to see beneath the outer skin and to get used to the repetitive style.
And heaven's, no Robert, I didn't take any offense to anything that was said.

Can you share some of the...
Can you share some of the photos? I'd love to see them!!!! I am sure I would like what I see .... I do trust your sensibilities. I have yet to see anything design wise that we really disagree on...

Hmmm...
I don't think so, I just saw them in his portfolio book. There is one interior shot on the site that I knopw came from that house. If you look closely you can see that there in another staircase descending behind that one.