Located on the turquoise trail between Albuquerque and Santa Fe, the Lone Mountain Ranch House by Rick Joy Architects is a light-filled twist on the low-slung form. The American West merges with the Far East on a 27,000-acre Wagyu-cattle ranch in a ghost town called Golden, New Mexico. Tucson-based architect Rick Joy designed a six-bedroom house for a couple who inherited the land.

Not far from where the Chama River meets the Rio Grande, about 30 miles north of Santa Fe, the Ohkay Owingeh—one of 19 federally recognized Native American Pueblo tribes in New Mexico—live on land they have inhabited for at least 600 years.

Cascading hilltop adobe frames distant views.