Art City Residences
Location
Tucumcari, New Mexico, US
Client
Art City
Typology
Hospitality, Residential
Status
Schematic Design
Size
9 Houses | 34Acres
Architects
M-Rad Inc.
Design Team: Matthew Rosenberg; James Hughes, AIA, LEED GA, NCARB; Roberto Ortiz de Landazuri; Etienne Serveau
collaborators
Art City Residences is a residential development by M-Rad Architecture located at Ute Lake Ranch near Tucumcari, New Mexico, conceived as an extension of the broader Art City vision that merges art, landscape, and community living. Set along the Canadian River, the project positions housing as both a lived environment and a cultural framework rather than a conventional subdivision.
The architectural concept is rooted in simple geometric forms, circles, triangles, and squares, that are assembled into clear, legible compositions responding to the vast high-desert landscape. These forms are not purely aesthetic; they organize space, light, and movement while creating strong relationships between indoor rooms, courtyards, and outdoor living areas.
Each residence is designed to balance privacy with openness, using courtyards, breezeways, and shaded outdoor spaces to mediate climate and encourage daily interaction with the environment. The houses are conceived as adaptable frameworks, allowing residents and artists to personalize their homes while maintaining a coherent architectural language across the site.
Material choices emphasize durability and regional appropriateness, including plaster, natural stone, wood, and weathering steel, reinforcing a dialogue between architecture and the rugged desert setting. The emphasis on outdoor rooms and generous exterior areas reflects a lifestyle centered on climate, landscape, and seasonal living.
More broadly, Art City Residences functions as a catalyst for cultural and economic activity in Tucumcari, aligning residential development with art production, tourism, and long-term place-making. By integrating housing into an art-driven ecosystem, the project proposes an alternative model for rural development that values creativity, identity, and resilience.