The Goat Heads

“Dignity and sense of place marked this project as distinctive. This project’s reading of vernacular ‘truck stop’ typology coupled with clear choices on materials and form are a great model to follow. Unafraid of using color, these examples of affordable housing retain personality and character.”
— Claire Weisz, FAIA

Location Marfa
Architect Candid Works
Design Team Candid Rogers, FAIA, Rogelio Rodriguez, Assoc. AIA, Fernando Morales, Douglas Long
Contractor J.W.G.
Structural Engineer Dan Ray

The Goat Heads — named after the seeds of the Tribulus terrestris, a weed pervading the project site — are a pair of micro dwellings that aim to help alleviate the affordable housing shortage in Marfa. Situated on an infill lot, the 360-sf dwellings constructed of off-the-shelf materials are equipped with kitchens, baths, comfortable living and sleeping spaces, and ample built-in storage. The simple volumes evoke a modernist ideal of shelter, with a front porch and small courtyard animating the exterior of each unit. Concrete-block screen walls cut the wind and sun, and passive heating and cooling are harnessed through thoughtful orientation.