metmar observatory is a research arm of metmar.studio dedicated to documenting vernacular architecture, rural landscapes, and material cultures shaped by everyday life. It operates as an evolving archive of fieldwork, visual narratives, and typological studies — a platform where architectural heritage is observed not as static monumentality, but as a living expression of environment, labor, and memory.

Through drawings, photography, oral histories, and comparative analysis, the Observatory engages with built forms that emerge from place-based knowledge — particularly those made from earth, reclaimed wood, and other locally sourced materials. Its work often bridges geographies, drawing parallels between distant regions like the Levant and the American Southwest, where earthen architecture has long responded to similar ecological and cultural conditions.

Current Project: Adobe Barns of Southern New Mexico

Launched in late 2024, The Observatory’s current project centers on the documentation of adobe barns in southern New Mexico— structures that once played a vital role in regional agricultural life. Today, many of these buildings are endangered — neglected as rural economies contract, zoning tightens, and preservation efforts remain uneven.

By surveying their typologies, recording construction details, and placing them in conversation with global earthen traditions, the Observatory highlights these barns not only as architectural artifacts, but as spatial records of agricultural knowledge. Their documentation becomes a means of honoring the cultural landscapes they once served — and of keeping alive the quiet intelligence embedded in rural, earthen forms.