Despite the obvious and insurmountable difference of cultures, there is a certain sympathy and even craving of the American mythology of the "Wild West" for the Japanese samurai tradition. This theme is fully disclosed in the cinema: one can recall the "Magnificent Seven", and "Red Sun", and "The Bodyguard". Tadao Ando expanded the parallel by designing a ranch near Santa Fe, the capital of New Mexico, for designer and filmmaker, and in the distant past, also architect Tom Ford.
On a huge desert area (nearly 10,000 hectares), a total of 8 buildings are planned. The famous Japanese sold three of them - the house itself, the stable and the mausoleum (originally it was planned for Ford's beloved terrier, but then the rancher himself expressed a desire to be buried here). All of them are made of smooth dark gray concrete and have very large but simple geometric shapes.
The objects are located taking into account the natural relief, "framing" the spectacular views. The two-level house occupies the top of a small plateau. On one side, it is surrounded by a wall imitating adobe masonry. An elongated reservoir is arranged on the roof of the lower level, and as a result, the glazed living room on the second level seems to float on its surface. Fruit orchards and vineyards, planted nearby at the initiative of the owner, complete the austere and at the same time sophisticated image.
Everything is extremely ascetic and spectacular: bright sand, water surface, oases and bends of concrete structures. There are rather transparent analogies with the cult architecture, which are completely no coincidence. Ando really sees the existence of a private home as an absolutely sacred process.
