“Hogan” is the Navajo word for home and also for the separate, sacred religious structure most Navajo people would traditionally build on their property. Over the years, the earthen, wood, and tree bark residential hogans have given way to more contemporary dwellings. Even so, the architecture throughout the Navajo Nation has remained generally simple in design.

The Skow residence is a contemporary Navajo home that honors the owners and the land, with a nod to the history of hogan design. It is the result of a collaboration between the homeowners, the Design Build program at the University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Utah’s DesignBuildBluff. The two college programs are not-for-profit opportunities for architectural students to support communities in need, creative design, and practical application.

The north side of the home is of highly insulating straw bale construction, while the main living area (south side) is of solar-glazed windows and wood frame. The enormity of the windows and the wraparound deck underscore the drama of the sage-ridden, desert landscape. As for the unique, upturned roof? It’s modeled after the owner’s sombrero and wise advice: If you’re going to live in a desert, you best have a good hat to shade you from the sun.

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Photos by Jessie Kuroiwa.

Weekend Cabin isn’t necessarily about the weekend, or cabins. It’s about the longing for a sense of place, for shelter set in a landscape…for something that speaks to refuge and distance from the everyday. Nostalgic and wistful, it’s about how people create structure in ways to consider the earth and sky and their place in them. It’s not concerned with ownership or real estate, but what people build to fulfill their dreams of escape. The very time-shortened notion of “weekend” reminds that it’s a temporary respite.