Calott
awarded for Gallup courthouse square design
By Carolyn
Gonzales
Chris
Calott wears many hats. He is a professor in practice in the
School of Architecture and Planning as well as interim studio
coordinator of the schools Design Planning Assistance
Center (DPAC); a partner in Infill Solutions, an innovative
urban design and development firm; and a principal in Calott
+ Gifford, a partnership dedicated to architecture, housing
and urban design.
Calott
+ Gifford and their collaborators Thomas O. Leatherwood Associates,
recently received the 2003 Innovation in Planning Award from
the American Planning Association, New Mexico chapter, for their
work with the City of Gallup and McKinley county to redevelop
downtown Gallup, renovate its 1930s era courthouse and create
an urban space connecting the courthouse to downtown.
Calott
+ Gifford Gifford is Tom Gifford, a 2000 graduate of
the School of Architecture and Planning received the
award, but the real reward, Calott said, came from Gallup and
McKinley county voters who passed a recent bond issue to pay
for the proposed redevelopment. Work will start in 2004.
We
worked for three to four months to understand the region, the
city, its history and economic development. Afterward, we held
a three-day public design workshop, or charrette, to engage
the community in the plan. We had between 150 and 200 people
attend, said Calott, who added that he thinks community
involvement, a basic DPAC approach, is a strong reason behind
voter support.
Calott
said that the community wanted a downtown image for Gallup and
the ability to improve their economic initiatives through the
citys downtown space.
Calott
said that Gallup is a courthouse square town, not a plaza town.
Other New Mexico courthouse towns include Deming, Carlsbad
and Lovington. It is strictly an American urban archetype. Gallup
does not have its history in a Spanish plaza, but was developed
by mining and the railroad, he said. A national expert
on the
courthouse square, Calott gave the community an explanatory
talk.
The community
expressed their desires. They wanted a war monument to honor
the Japanese-American Medal of Honor winner from the Korean
War who lives in Gallup, veterans and the Navajo code talkers.
They wanted a large open space and for their classic courthouse
to be visible and accessible.
We
added Heritage Grove, a pleasant canopied area attached to Memorial
Square. Heritage Grove represents the present and the future
as well as celebrating the diversity of the people in the area,
he said. The two urban spaces will take up six blocks, which
means some structures will be torn down in order to connect
the courthouse with Coal Avenue, the citys main street.
As professor
in practice, Calott is out in the community practicing
what hes teaching and teaching what he practices. I
teach because I love to engage students in projects connected
to practice and cities, he said. He added that he would
not have time to be involved in so many community initiatives
or involve students in them if he were tenure
track.
The City
of Gallup submitted the project for the Innovations in Planning
Award. Only one award is given. We were up against other
municipalities, designers and planners, he said. He added
that Ken Hughes, regional planning section chief, local government
division, in the states Department of Finance & Administration,
gave them the award at a recent planning symposium held at UNM.
I
want to continue to work with students at UNM and to meet the
needs of small and medium cities throughout New Mexico,
Calott said.
Although
he wears many hats, Calotts shoes are well-worn steel
toe boots. Its what he wears on construction sites and
how he gets around in his fast-paced world.