The idea behind Endémico is "luxury camping." Set on 40 acres of gorgeous, unspoiled terrain, there are 20 bungalows and a shared pool for guests to take a dip in. The Encuentro Guadalupe winery offers guests access to local wines as well as a peek at how they are processed through winemaking courses. Encuentro's restaurant will feature dishes that incorporate local flavors as well as a cooking school where people can learn how to prepare creative meals with the guidance of talented young chefs.

An on-site art gallery housed in a modern steel structure gives guests a taste of the Santa Fe arts scene. The abstract bronze sculpture is by artist Bill Barrett.

To most eyes, Ezequiel Farca’s 1970s-style concrete home in Mexico City looked like a teardown. Even the lot itself—shallow and crammed against a steep hillside—wasn’t particularly alluring. But Farca saw through all the restraints to create a spa-like refuge in one of the world’s most energetic cities. "It’s is such a hectic place. You’re bombarded by so much information the moment you step into the streets," says Farca, who first gained prominence as a furniture and interior designer. "So we envisioned this house as a retreat, a kind of a temple." The rooftop courtyard is lined with a verdant mix of indigenous plants, including banana trees, palm trees, lion’s claw, Mexican breadfruit, and native vines. The chaise longues were designed for Farca’s EF Collection.

Designed to reflect sacred Pueblo Indian kivas but with an updated spin, the light and airy round-roomed spa “warming space” features a custom walnut-striped chandelier and stacked wood Falo tables—a nod to Native American and New Mexico traditions.

Designed by Wilson Associates, the rooms are outfitted with knotty Alder doors, square-cut wood beams, local art, and mid-century style furniture highlighted by pops of Southwest accents. French doors lead to private terraces fringed by lavender plants, aspen and juniper trees and desert brush.

Minimalist poolside loungers provide guests maximum serenity while taking in the sweeping Southwest setting.

In the hotel’s raved-about Terra restaurant, natural light pours in through glass walls, while rich chocolate woods, exposed lights suspended from tall ceilings, and a massive stone fireplace set the sleek tone.

Hello, hiking trails out your back door: the staff leads daily treks from the property’s Camino Encantado ridge offering postcard-worthy views of the surrounding Sangre de Cristo and Jemez Mountains and Valles Caldera.

Reinterpreting traditional adobes into high desert modern design, architecture firms Hart Howerton and Aiken Pate Architects utilized earthy palettes and local materials to echo the natural surroundings.

In the outdoor dining room, wire chairs by Harry Bertoia for Knoll surround a mango wood table made by a local carpenter, Diego Madrazo.

Known for furniture and interior design, Ezequiel Farca transformed a 1970s-style concrete home in Mexico City into a tranquil sanctuary. The temple-like retreat blends into the hilly Lomas de Chapultepec neighborhood with its pale gray-green hue and strategic plantings, which soften the boundaries between house, garden, and street. The Recinto lava stone patio accessed through the living room holds teak outdoor furniture designed by Farca himself.

"The longer I work as an architect, the more I want to deepen my skills as a gardener," says Yuri Zagorin Alazraki, founder of the Mexico City firm ZD+A. In building his own house in Mexico City’s Lomas de Chapultepec neighborhood, his commitment has produced results that appear miraculous. In fact, they grow out of a carefully choreographed series of bravura design moves.

An Almond bathtub by Porcelanosa is accented by a tub filler from Hansgrohe.

Two art studios adjoin a central volume at this work/live residence built from terracreto (sustainable concrete), glass, and painted steel just outside of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Residents Austin and Lida Lowrey, retired design and museum professionals, collaborated with their two daughters—Sheridan, an artist, and Elizabeth, an architect—to design the structure as a place for creative contemplation.

A collection of flea-market finds and personal keepsakes sit perched upon a shelf in Austin’s studio.

Taos Pueblo in Taos, New Mexico, has been the home of a Native American community for over 700 years. Built from adobe —a durable mixture of earth, water, and straw — the houses pictured here are still home to about 150 Pueblo Indians today. Photo via National Geographic

New Mexico Pillow by Little Korboose “These are the most luxurious pillows, really simple and soft, made from organic speck cotton. An accent pillow can make more of a statement when it’s something so soft you want to touch.”

In an effort to create an abundance of light and air flow throughout the space, the home follows an L-shaped floor plan that wraps around outdoor areas. “We designed several open spaces, each with a different feel: the garden and pool, the terrace, and the back patio,” says Cesarman. “The idea was to reduce the area to the most basic and essential [elements].”

“It’s never static or solid here—with thelight, there’s always some sort of movement.”—Austin Lowrey, resident

Solid European oak flooring by DuChateau runs throughout the home. The sculpture is by Jorge Yázpik.

Mexican encaustic tiles with a geometric floral pattern from Mosaicos Terra line the bathroom in Austin’s studio, where a full-height window near the wall-mounted shower provides a view to the expansive outdoor scenery. A vintage kewpie doll sculpture sits atop the custom terrazzo-and-granite counter; the steel mirror is from Artes de México.

Farca furnished the living room with a Serge Mouille three-arm floor lamp, custom sofas from EF Collection, and Surface tables by Vincent Van Duysen for B&B Italia.

Architect Joaquin Castillo blends inexpensive materials, the odd splurge, and a refined modernist sensibility to create an affordable weekend house for brothers Alfredo and Guillermo Oropeza. The facade is a juxtaposition of rough-hewn local stone, smooth concrete, glass, and steel—the material palette used throughout the structure.

A couple—he an entrepreneur working in logistics, she a stay-at-home mother—bought an 8,500-square-foot house here and approached JSa, a Mexico City-based architectural firm, with the idea of remodeling it. The house was poorly sited on its lot in a manner that drew very little natural light. The architects sized it up and quickly realized that the best solution would be to tear it down and start from scratch.

Oak veneer lines the stairwell in between the master bedroom and the children’s wing.

The master bedroom, painted in Whisper by Comex, sports a bed that Farca custom-designed as part of his EF Collection.

Tom Givone's current weekend abode, nicknamed the Floating Farmhouse, is—so far—his capstone project, a synthesis of personal taste, material experimentation, and historically sensitive restoration: a living laboratory for how to bring the vernacular past into the present.

Overhead cabinets now can be easily swung open for ease of access. The kitchens are priced at IKEA’s usual retails. A 10 by 10 foot kitchen fitted with Sektion cabinets will range from around $1,300 to $2,200, excluding appliances.

Crushed stone paths and native plantings, including cacti, wildflowers, and grasses, encompass the surrounding landscape. “We’re nothing but natural,” says Austin. “The cacti, to me, are like pieces of sculpture, each with their own personality. I even named some.”

In the sitting area, two leather Paulistano chairs by Paulo Mendes da Rocha top a rug by Yerra; the wall paint is Comex.

Farca also designed the custom millwork throughout the house, such as the swinging door leading into the dining room. The leather Siren dining chairs are by Holly Hunt.

Narigua House (El Jonuco, Mexico) Architect: David Pedroza Castañeda Category: House

Black and white kitchen tiles add visual interest to this stunning modern kitchen by IKEA.

Photo courtesy of JSa.

Mexico City, population 22,200,000. Mexico City is the largest metropolitan area in the Western Hemisphere.

Estadio Azteca (Mexico City, Mexico: 1970 and 1986 World Cups) It’s easy for this classic stadium to be overshadowed by the incredible football that’s taken place on its pitch, from the “Hand of God” goal and 1970’s “Game of the Century” between Italy and West Germany to a pair of electrifying World Cup finals. Architects Pedro Ramirez Vasquez and Rafael Mijares studied stadiums overseas for years, eventually creating an iconic venue that, with it’s sound trapping overhangs and incredible altitude, has functioned like a 12th man supporting the Mexican national squad, which has rarely lost here.