UNM SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE AND PLANNING RECEIVES AWARD FOR WORK ON DOÑA ANA PLAZA

June 18, 2003

UNM SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE AND PLANNING RECEIVES AWARD FOR WORK ON DOÑA ANA PLAZA

The Design Planning Assistance Center (DPAC) within the University of New Mexico School of Architecture and Planning will receive a Charter Award from the Congress for New Urbanism (CNU) for the Doña Ana Plaza Plan, a project DPAC undertook with Moule and Polyzoides Architects and Urbanists.

The award is one of 15 for excellence in urban design chosen out of a field of 169 nominees from around the world. The award will be presented at the CNU conference July 21 in Washington D.C.
Chris Calott, visiting associate professor and urban designer, led one of the three teams at the design charrette. Calott's team developed the basic development concept chosen for Doña Ana Plaza. The design plan includes a small sitting plaza in front of the old church, a community plaza with a larger, open multi-purpose space, a cloister courtyard adjacent to the new and old churches with a new portal fronting the parish hall. Also included in the design plans are a small community library and computer center opposite the old church and a heritage center in a small new building. Two restored historic houses east of the sitting plaza potentially to house a state Camino Real interpretive center.

"Led by State Senator Mary Jane Garcia, the community of Doña Ana collaborated closely on the development of the plan. The concept envisions a plaza park where an asphalt parking lot now stands in front of the old church and lays the groundwork for the revitalization of this oldest settlement in southern New Mexico," said Roger Schluntz, dean of the UNM School of Architecture and Planning.

He added that the project also received funding from the UNM Center for Regional Studies.

"The New Mexico Heritage Preservation Alliance, with funds from the McCune Foundation for community-based preservation planning, made possible the community visioning workshop and report that initiated the process for the project," said Wilson, visiting associate professor, architecture and planning. Wilson will represent the school at the CNU conference.

Other UNM architecture and planning faculty and students who contributed to the project include: Wilson, Marc Childs and students in the DPAC studio, Teresa Cordova and students in the Resource Center for Raza Planning, Alf Simon and students in the landscape architecture studio and Baker Morrow, adjunct associate professor of landscape architecture.

Communications and Journalism Professor Miguel Gandert and students Lynée Busta and José Zelaya also contributed.

The international jury was headed by San Francisco-based architect Daniel Solomon and included the varying perspectives of Hans Stimmann, director of urban planning for Berlin, Germany; urbanist John Torti, Larry Beasley, co-director of planning for Vancouver, British Columbia and others.

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