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Latest articles we’ve been writing in our blog:

History / Santa Fe Style

Santa Fe's Renovation September 13, 2011
The story of renovation in Santa Fe is the story of the systematic removal of most of the city’s historic architectural heritage and has always been a subject of intense discussion and controversy. Many of Santa Fe’s most prominent buildings in t...
Santa Fe Style Artists August 9, 2011
Imagine if you lived in Santa Fe before the horseless buggy and before the arrival of the first railroad cars. A few thousand residents and scattered houses along the Santa Fe river valley and the plaza teamed with the tired oxen who carried the wago...
The Advent of Santa Fe Style 2 July 15, 2011
Before Santa Fe was a “style” the local people were building their homes with the materials they had available to them in response to the climate and environment in which they lived. They werebuilding for the lifestyle they were leading, which to...
The Carpinteros of New Mexico July 3, 2011
The woodworkers of New Mexico have always been at the forefront of creating the details of SantaFe Style. When Onate came to settle New Mexico in 1598 with his entourage of hundreds only a handful were listed as carpenters or carpinteros. These men lik...
Northern New Mexico Design Influences June 19, 2011
There are numerous influences for our Northern New Mexico sense of design which can be found in the idioms of the early mission churches, the Indian pueblos and rural dwellings, the Anasazi ruins, and the household articles crafted by the early settler...

Home Design

Home Design October 19, 2011
Our modern notion of what design is began around the turn of the last century. The Bauhaus movement began disseminating the idea that architecture and consumer goods should be designed to be functional, cheap, and facilitate mass production and to ar...
Intelligent Home Design October 3, 2011
It is universal that no matter the size of the kitchen, it must have a good layout. Not only does it want to look good, but it must function well too. A smart kitchen has the refrigerator, sink and stove in a proper triangle. It has the food-prep a...
Northern New Mexico Design Influences June 19, 2011
There are numerous influences for our Northern New Mexico sense of design which can be found in the idioms of the early mission churches, the Indian pueblos and rural dwellings, the Anasazi ruins, and the household articles crafted by the early settler...
Time to Accentuate Your Outdoor Space June 2, 2010
I love the seasons Spring and Summer when the weather turns nice. I am spending more time in the space outside of my house, grilling on the barbeque, relaxing under the portal or under the shade of a tree and enjoying the latest flowers in bloom. A ...
The Beauty of Custom Home Design February 26, 2010
Like so many things in life, the deeper the connections, the richer the experience. So it is with a home designed for you and for your homesite. Those books of stock home plans just cannot provide a home with the samepersonal comfort. They merely dea...

Custom Building

The Tradition of Adobe in Home Building October 10, 2010
by Kurt Faust, Tierra Concepts Inc. Adobe is still one of the most widely used green materials in Santa Fe home building. There is something innately obvious about using the earth from the locale as the main ingredient in making a shelter or home...
Time to Accentuate Your Outdoor Space June 2, 2010
I love the seasons Spring and Summer when the weather turns nice. I am spending more time in the space outside of my house, grilling on the barbeque, relaxing under the portal or under the shade of a tree and enjoying the latest flowers in bloom. A ...
The Intangibles in Choosing a Builder March 16, 2010
When choosing a builder, certain elements such as the visual quality and the craftsmanship are easier to judge. Look at the edges where two different materials meet and you will immediately see the skill level of the craftsmen involved. Look at how s...
The Beauty of Custom Home Design February 26, 2010
Like so many things in life, the deeper the connections, the richer the experience. So it is with a home designed for you and for your homesite. Those books of stock home plans just cannot provide a home with the samepersonal comfort. They merely dea...
Building and emotion October 29, 2009
OCTOBER 2006 VOLUME 10, ISSUE 7 by Kurt Faust Each stage of the building process brings its own emotional highs and lows. As with any great endeavor, satisfaction is equal to the effort made. Schematic Design is the beginning, stage when all the...

Green Building

Weatherize, Winterize and Energy Efficiency November 7, 2011
With the cold weather approaching and energy costs on the rise, it is time to think about how energy efficient your home will be to heat this winter and how you can save some money. Dramatic savings, 30 percent and above, can be had on some older hom...
Talking About Insulation! June 2, 2010
With all of the talk about sustainable building practices these days, and especially now that the cost of energy is rising so fast, it is time to think about how much energy your house is using. Energy efficiency is one of the fundamentals of “green ...
Alternatives: Rammed Earth, Pumice-Crete April 2, 2010
Rammed earth and pumice-crete are wall construction systems with several things in common. They both have substantial thermal mass, use relatively greensustainable building methods and are both cast in place using standard concrete forming methods. ...
On the Subject of Green Building July 1, 2009
It is the goal of “green” building to increase the efficiency of the use of materials, energy and other resources and to reduce the impact on the environment and thehealth of the occupants. This is accomplished for the entire life-cycle of thebuild...
On Zero-Energy Homes June 1, 2009
Zero-Energy (ZE) homes and buildings offset the energy they use from thepower grid with energy produced from renewable sources such as solar electric and solar-thermal systems. Because of the reduced energy consumption and capacity to create electric...

Haciendas Parade of Homes

Haciendas - A Parade of Homes 2007 August 29, 2007
Haciendas - A Parade of Homes 2007 by Kurt Faust Santa Fe is fortunate to have one of the best "Parade of Homes" events in the country and is the largest real estate event in Northern New Mexico. It features a wide variety of new homes and remodels...
Haciendas a Standout Homes Event 2005 August 1, 2005
Santa Fe is fortunate to have one of the best “Parade of Homes” events in the country and it is the largest real-estate event in northern New Mexico. It featuresa wide variety of homes in many styles, price ranges, and locations in the Cityand su...

Pricing

About ‘price per square foot’ July 29, 2010
JANUARY 2008 VOLUME 11, ISSUE 10 by Kurt Faust Of the several hundreds of people I have met with who have considered buying a custom home, I find most were trying to make a value judgement based on very little information. Too much emphasis is plac...
Why Talk About Cost Per Square Foot? October 2, 2008
One of the questions I am asked most often is, “What is the cost ofconstruction in Santa Fe?” The discussion always includes some comments about price per square foot. In Santa Fe, price per square foot measures the heated area of the home, inclu...

Building Materials

The Tradition of Adobe in Home Building October 10, 2010
by Kurt Faust, Tierra Concepts Inc. Adobe is still one of the most widely used green materials in Santa Fe home building. There is something innately obvious about using the earth from the locale as the main ingredient in making a shelter or home...
Talking About Insulation! June 2, 2010
With all of the talk about sustainable building practices these days, and especially now that the cost of energy is rising so fast, it is time to think about how much energy your house is using. Energy efficiency is one of the fundamentals of “green ...
About wall panels and blocks May 29, 2010
MAY 2008 VOLUME 12, ISSUE 2 by Kurt Faust CMUs, ICFs and SIPs are building systems with many common features. CMU, the concrete masonry unit (aka concrete block, cinder block) is the oldest of these systems, being first manufactured in the 1800s. T...
Alternatives: Rammed Earth, Pumice-Crete April 2, 2010
Rammed earth and pumice-crete are wall construction systems with several things in common. They both have substantial thermal mass, use relatively greensustainable building methods and are both cast in place using standard concrete forming methods. ...
On Wall Materials in New Construction April 2, 2009
Adobe is one of the oldest and most widely used building materials on Earth, going back to Egypt in the time of the pharaohs. The technology was brought to the Southwest by the Spaniards and is the inspiration for the beautiful style that is so unique ...

Other

A few ideas about site selection May 29, 2008
JULY 2004 VOLUME 8, ISSUE 4 by Kurt Faust Careful site selection is extremely important for anyone in the process of choosing a piece of property for a new home. As my colleague, Nate Downey, said in his column in last months (June 2004) issue of t...
The Northwest Quadrant September 2, 2004
The Northwest Quadrant (NWQ) is the only significant remaining opportunity to create affordable housing in Santa Fe near the Plaza. In 2003 the Santa Fe City Council adopted a resolution to look at developing a portion of the City owned land in the N...

Videos

Southwestern Spanish Craftsmen Video March 18, 2011
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfkYlJPohag Together, Tierra Concepts, Carpinteros and Southwest Spanish Craftsmen form an inspired lifestyle through a fusion of creativity and craftsmanship. Owners Kurt Faust, Keith Gorges, and Eric Faust have been ...
Custom Homes Video Tour September 21, 2010
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9sApmxaD8I