EARTHWING

Earth-Wing is a small vacation home on a remote site in western New Mexico. The house site is on a mesa in a landscape that would overpower a conventional design. The owner is building a landing strip on the top of the mesa, so the house is built into the eastern side of the mesa and virtually invisible on the vast mesa top. Being off the grid Earthwing utilizes sustainable environmental design and materials including passive solar, and an innovative sod roof design to moderate temperature changes and shelter the house from severe western winds. The design optimizes the majestic views of the site while providing solar heat gain through an innovative central kiva courtyard. The room layout was tailored to give maximum privacy for each room while maintaining a spacious feel to the living spaces.

BIO

Rae Douglass is an architect who has created a broad range of work that is noteworthy for its originality and deep connection to client and context. Rae’s work has won awards from the American Institute of Architects and has been included in annual tours of significant architecture. Rae is also an inventor with multiple patents in the lighting and toy industries, and currently has inventions licensed by Ravensburger. Rae founded a lighting company and has created permanent sculptural installations based on his inventions at various schools and universities. Rae has taught Architecture at the University of Hawaii and has been invited to give talks about his work throughout the country. Rae has worked with the Hawaii Department of Education to initiate the Ka Hei Program as its Program Manager and to design a modular system of building components to replace their inventory of portable classrooms. Registered Architect, Arizona, Hawaii Education Bachelor of Architecture – Mississippi State University Urban Studies Abroad – Plymouth Polytechnic, United Kingdom