Above the secluded campus of St. John’s College in the Santa Fe foothills, juniper and piñon trees are laced together in a dense mantilla that shrouds the landscape with mystery and majesty. Climbing higher along the ridges that embrace Atalaya Mountain, dramatic mirages of the distant Jemez and Sandia mountain ranges suddenly emerge on the horizon, saturated with the totemic power worshipped by the Pueblo people.

Stephen and Karen Durkovich found an 11-acre parcel within these Atalaya foothills that would yield a compelling site for a redefined New Mexican “village” compound. After living in Albuquerque for the better part of a generation, the Durkovich family looked to Santa Fe’s eastern foothills to create an inspired residence for reflective living, as well as exuberant entertaining, as befitting their status as leading hosts in Democratic Party circles.

Stephen looked no further than his gym partner, architect Tony Evanko, for a design professional to collaborate with on the home. The attorney and the architect had known each other for years, and the Durkoviches selected Evanko as their house architect on the sole criteria that “he was a really good person.”

 

 

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