The Valles Caldera Visitor's Center in the Valles Caldera National Reserve of New Mexico is  imbedded within a small mound extending from the base of the mountainous ring that bounds the caldera on all sides. By using the formal language of "excavation", the project blurs landscape and building so as not to detract from the beauty of the site. Visitors are brought from the top of the hill down into the earth through a series of punctures that provide circulation, light wells, windows, and open air courtyards.