Throw open the French doors in the dining room of Casa Acequia or stand outside on a narrow cantilevered balcony, and a rustling aspen grove is almost close enough to touch. So too is the exterior of an enclosed bridge that crosses over a meandering dry creek bed to split this Albuquerque home into two portions.

“A site specific solution” might be the technical jargon that designer Jim Beverly and builder Scott Hauquitz would use to describe the unique, window-filled crossing that separates the home’s primary living space from the guest quarters. Visitors, however, call it simply “the bridge,” and delight in its shaded northwesterly views of the Rio Grande valley and the Sandias’ South Peak to the east.

“It gives the appearance and feel of a stream through this property,” says Hauquitz of the Keystone Custom Homes model, located in the High Desert subdivision tucked against the Sandia Mountains. “There’s a feeling of running water through a sandy acequia.” A gurgling fountain at the front door further heightens the watery perception.

The bridge is a visually pleasing design element that provides a practical solution to the challenges of building a single-story home on a steeply sloping property. With a front entrance more than four feet lower than street level, the bridge—along with the manmade, rocky acequia—adds curb appeal and privacy to the 3,978-square-foot home while also solving potential drainage problems.

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