Minimalist Marfa compound lists for $3.5m

Industrial style meets organic finishes at this contemporary Marfa compound, built by two different architects in the Chihuahuan desert.

The minimalist west Texas property has a palette of concrete, aluminium and glass mixed with abode walls and rough plaster. It sits in the remote desert arts town of Marfa, known for its modernist architecture and site-specific artworks by minimalist artist Donald Judd.

Its owners, Terry Mowers and Lindy Thorsen, bought the original building in 2007 in an unfinished state and hired Berkeley-based studio Rael San Fratello to complete it. In 2019, they added a second, smaller structure by Tuscon-based studio Dust, according to a WSJ article. Now it’s up for sale for $3.5m via Kuper Sotheby’s International Realty.

The Marfa property centres around a wide kitchen with a living space, flanked by rough textured mud walls, with flashes of metal in the kitchen cabinetry, wall mirrors and aluminium window frames. It culminates in a glass wall facing a sculpture garden and has glazed openings peering out to the desert.

Smooth concrete flooring, tall doorways, and full-length metal glazing keep things cool in the smaller building, which houses a primary bedroom suite, a studio, and a living space. Other cool additions include a tadelakt bath, a mirrored bathroom wall, and an industrial outdoor shower.

Living spaces throughout the two-bedroom desert home pour out onto its four-acre desert gardens, which feature walled courtyard spaces, native plants, a cascading, trough-like water feature, and long views out across the desert plain.

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