In 2007, Rick Joy started constructing a house and stable in Taos, New Mexico.  In 2009, the client filed bankruptcy, and the house was left uncompleted.  The house was to be the first of its kind- a series of 50 foot wide barrel-vaults built of rammed earth.  Out of curiosity, I went with a few friend’s to explore the abandoned construction site.  As we approached on foot, walking along the access road down into a valley and up again to the house entrance, we were confronted by a graveyard of full-scale window mock-ups and abandoned steel beams.  We walked through a sample barrel vault, and to a pile of earth (probably intended as ramming material).  The site look as if the contractor was there one day, and the next he just didn’t come back, leaving an interesting archeology for us to explore.  We were unable to get inside the one completed wing of the building, but the huge windows allowed us to see the interior of all of the major rooms- revealing the impressive barrel-vaulted ceilings.  From the exterior we were still able to experience the most important connection to nature- a 15 x 40 window from the main living space overlooking the Taos desert valley.  The beauty of the project was that the completed parts of the buildings integrated seamlessly with the uncompleted parts and with desert surroundings.  Some things are better left unfinished.