Santa Fe Historic District https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Santa_Fe_Historic_District_140.JPG
Research Questions/Intro
Latin America has a very fascinating culture due to its diversity and cultural blends. Much of this diversity stems from its history of conquest and colonization which brought a variety of groups of people into conflict with one another but also in contact, creating a new mixed-race people and history. This cultural mix distinct to the rest of the world is also reflected in its architecture. One can see the uniqueness of the culture and aesthetic of Latin American history in the Southwestern United States. States like Arizona and New Mexico have distinct cultures, architectures, and urban identities to the rest of the country. They also have a much higher concentration of Latin American influence, a proximity to the border, and a large Native American influence. This research kit explores how indigenous populations affect the architecture, and urban identity, of the Southwest. I will touch upon aspects like architecture, pueblo/adobe design, urban identity, historical significance, and more.
- How does architecture reflect Spanish and Indigenous influence in the Southwestern US ?
- How and why does contemporary urban design & urban planning systems incorporate elements of local culture?
Narrative/Overview
As culture spreads and changes throughout the country, urban planning tends to reiterate the aesthetics, and cultural norms, of those who inhabit the area. The Southwestern United States is known for its unique culture that has resisted Americanization more so than any other region. The area that covers Arizona, New Mexico, and more, boasts an extensive history that regularly gets honored throughout the architectural, cultural, and aesthetical choices of today. The history is, like much of Latin American & United States history, plagued with an unhappy past; white colonization, black enslavement, and the abuse of indigenous groups hardly touches the surface. But as a result of this rich history, their urban identity has successfully been maintained distinct to the rest of the United States. This region promotes the Spanish & Indigenous influence through architectural choices, and is vastly responsible for the popularization of the Pueblo-Revival architecture.
The evolution of this topic may capture the attention of those with an interest in geopolitics, history, or generalized cultural studies. The Southwest is an incredibly distinct area of the country. With influence from Spanish colonization, Anglo-Saxon settlers, Indigenous populations, and proximity to Latin America, the cultural blending of various different cultures helps to bring about a unique urban identity. Those who are college-aged, and interested in learning more about the world and cultures around them, can learn from this kit just how important regional history is to a society. It is important to consider the contributions of Latin American and indigenous history towards this region. Too often, United States history gets very white-washed. This creates misinformation, and can lead to confusion about cultures unfamiliar. Latin America, and by extension, the Southwestern US, draws upon so many cultures to contribute to their uniqueness. By focusing on architectural choices and urban planning distinct to a region dedicated to remembering its historical past, innovative urban design choices will become more understood and appreciated.
The extent to which the rich history of the region is ever-evolving. Indigenous settlers have been in the region for thousands of years, and Spanish colonization started around the 16th century. The region has aspects of white, indigenous, and black culture. Northern African Moors, who spread their influence into Muslim-Spain, saw a revival of their architectural-style choices in the Spanish Southwest. Spanish Catholics set up their Missions throughout the region, implementing their contribution to architectural choice, creating a cultural blend of Spanish influence sitting amongst indigenous architecture. The architecture of the region pledges itself to be reminiscent of its history. Contemporary design choices have led to revivalism-based buildings, with acknowledgement of indigenous and Spanish culture, leading toward an eclectic cultural blend that led to the birth of the Santa Fe Style (Architectural Techniques).
The cultural blend of the groups in the Southwest contributed to the regionalist urban identity, and the unique architectural planning. The goal of many architectures was to encapsulate the “essential characteristics of the place and encourage design that acknowledged history, character, and climate. Builders and architects practicing in the Southwest accordingly began to layer and merge traditional motifs with modernist materials and techniques” (Valentine 2008). This cultural amalgamation led to the popularization of the Pueblo-Revival style, later to be known as the Santa Fe style architecture. Because the Southwest is distinct due to the practically-equal influence from various racial groups, urban planning has been created around this, rather than embracing the homogenous Americanization of most cities. In fact, in 1957, Santa Fe, New Mexico, published an ordinance that mandated all public buildings to be built in the Pueblo-Revival architectural style in order to preserve the culture and aesthetic popularized by Natives and Spanish settlers (City of Santa Fe 2022). This cultural preservation has been protected and promoted, with historians admiring the usage of regional materials, like adobe, that created buildings that “still stands there a monument to Spaniard and Indian” (Bushee 1923). The constant homage and preservation of the region’s history through architecture creates a unique urban design and identity.
The regional architecture of the Southwest is so important because it helps to mold the unique urban identity, promote tourism, and preserve history. The Southwest is defined by its dry, desert climate. The architecture found throughout homogenous suburbs of the rest of the United States was not built with this dry, hot climate in mind. However, the indigenous and Spanish populations adapted their architecture because of the climate, not despite it. These cultural groups “understood [the] elements and understood how to build an architecture that responds to the region” (Poster 1993). The characteristics of the regional landscape is what keeps this region so tied to its cultural foundation; the original settlers, and indigenous populations, incorporated certain materials and architectural styles (such as adobe materials, shaded areas, and Spanish-style courtyards) styled architectural choices that would thrive in the harsh climate. The unique climate is an important aspect behind urban design. The city of Scottsdale, Arizona’s urban design guidebook discusses the importance of adhering to their natural environment by setting guidelines that keep in context the “local and regional culture, climate, and Sonoran Desert landscape” (City of Scottsdale 2019). As the industrial revolution swept the nation, introducing a globalization impact, cultural preservation and rejection of outside influence took over the minds of Southwesterners. Architects like John Gaw Meem began consulting historians, preservationists, scholars, and more in order to design buildings that incorporated culture, and history (Fussel 2020). This way, the region can honor its historical roots while promoting a modern urban design that benefits society.
The “Santa Fe-style architecture”, which is just a popularized name for Pueblo-revivalism, is a modern reminder of the Indigenous and Spanish contributions found throughout the Southwestern region. The incorporation of materials that are naturally found in the environment, rather than embracing foreign materials made available through commercialization and an American push for homogeneity, creates a homage for the original groups who built according to the climate. Many cities create urban planning design guidelines based around preserving this very history; this past has built an urban identity its people love to protect. These urban planning structures account for climate, tourism, and identity; all factors that are kept alive through distinctive architecture that was carefully crafted by the influential decisions of Indigenous Americans and Spanish settlements.
John Gaw Meem Drawings and Plans https://libguides.unm.edu/meem/meem
Primary Sources Annotated Bibliography
Bushee, Alice H. “Spanish Influence in the Southwest.” Hispania, vol. 6, no. 3, 1923, pp. 148–57. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/331803. Accessed 12 Dec. 2022.
This is an account of the influential Spanish cultural aspects found throughout the Southwest. Through a firsthand account, Alice Bushee, a Hispanic studies scholar, traveled throughout the Southwestern U.S. through the Southern Pacific. She gives a quick history of Southwestern colonization before discussing her own personal studies through individual academic-based travel. This source is full of useful anecdotes, knowledge, and analysis of different aspects of Spanish influence in the Southwest as far East as New Orleans and as West as California; showing that the differences in each individual city has catered this influence to account for unique urban identities as well.
City of Scottsdale: Old Town Urban Design & Architectural Guidelines https://eservices.scottsdaleaz.gov/planning/projectsummary/unrelated_documents/Enclosure%201.pdf
This is an official document from the Scottsdale, Arizona City Council. In it, it discusses the urban planning and guidelines used for their city limits. It touches upon architecture choice, city characteristics, district designs, development, and more. Scottsdale is a city that has been heavily influenced by Pueblo-revivalism and its history of indigenous tribes, Spanish colonialism, and more. By discussing rationales behind design choice, architecture style, and developments, it opens an opportunity to understand the general history behind aesthetic choices in Southwestern cities. It can be useful to learn more about the modern day touches in a Pueblo-style architectural world.
City of Santa Fe: Land Use and Urban Design Plan https://santafenm.gov/
In 1957, Sante Fe issued what would become a historical zoning ordinance. They mandated a “town square”-like structure, and prohibited the construction of buildings that were not in the Pueblo style. This was done to preserve their historical ties to the founding, as Santa Fe is one of the oldest capitals in the country. This was done to prevent Americanization, aka they wanted a distinct culture from the rest of the capital cities that honored their history. As a result, Pueblo-style architecture became synonymous with New Mexico, and the “Sante Fe” architecture became popular throughout the rest of the region. This ordinance will be useful because it will provide insight to the history behind the decision, and the exact rules surrounding the architecture choices seen to this day.
Secondary Sources Annotated Bibliography
“The American Southwest.” ARCHITECTURAL ANTIQUES, www.archantiques.com/the-american-southwest.
This source dedicates itself to discussions of the exact factors that make the Southwest so distinct in an architectural sense. It gives the cultural history of the ethnic groups in the region, and discusses the fusion of cultures that led to the birth of a unique Southwestern style. It is valuable to my research because it shares which ethnic groups were responsible for which factors of culture/architecture, and their relation to the other factors. It discusses revivalism and its relationship to post-modernism in Southwestern cultures.
Valentine, Maggie. “A Border Runs through It: Looking at Regionalism through Architecture in the Southwest.” Regionalism and the Humanities, edited by Timothy R. Mahoney and Wendy J. Katz, University of Nebraska Press, 2008, pp. 56–74. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt1dgn4v0.9. Accessed 5 Dec. 2022.
This article analyzes the history of Southwestern cultural preservation. With historical elements from Spanish, Anglo-Saxon, and native populations, it blended to create a culture distinct from other regions of the US. To this day, the region upholds their history more than any other region. Architectural choices are a huge part of a region’s culture and identity. All these, and more, are included in this article. It is useful to my research kit because it explores what makes the Southwestern urban design so unique, and how Spanish and native populations played a hand in that.
Poster, Corky. “Sombra, Patios, y Macetas Modernism, Regionalism, and the Elements of Southwestern Architecture.” Journal of the Southwest, vol. 35, no. 4, 1993, pp. 461–500. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40169898. Accessed 5 Dec. 2022.
This is another article that explores regionalism in aesthetics, and how Southwestern architecture distinguishes itself from typical American design choices. Corky touches upon how the history of the region combined with modernist design movements combine to create the aesthetic choices we know today. He discusses the various elements that all go together. He then criticizes Eurocentrism, and even touches upon the distinct climate of the Southwest and how the adobe and pueblo style is built for that climate system. This is important to my research because it touches upon the long history of cultural blends, clashes, and geographic importance and how they all affect present day architectural choices.
Lightfoot, Kent G. “The Archaeology of Colonialism in the American Southwest and Alta California: Some Observations and Comments.” New Mexico and the Pimería Alta: The Colonial Period in the American Southwest, edited by John G. Douglass and William M. Graves, University Press of Colorado, 2017, pp. 355–78. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1mmftg6.21. Accessed 12 Dec. 2022.
This journal article explores the foundation of the relationships between the “Colonizer” and the “Native”, and by extension, the “Mission” and the “Pueblo”. Although the architecture and culture today is considered a healthy blend of the two, of course, there was a point in history where the two had to “integrate” for the first time. Cultural entanglements and coexistence had to develop over time to create the culture known well today. This article was useful to my research because it explored the colonial foundation of Spanish/Latin influences in a previously uncolonized area.
Research Guides: John Gaw Meem: Home. libguides.unm.edu/meem.
This research guide, found on the University of New Mexico libraries site, dedicates itself to preserving the memory of John Gaw Meem. Gaw Meem was an incredibly influential architect in Santa Fe, whose buildings really helped popularize Pueblo-Revivalism. He wanted to help keep the Santa Fe individualism alive, and design 40 buildings for the UNM campus. This is important to my research because it shows the thought process that went into modern urban designs, and how they would incorporate rich regional Spanish, Latin, and indigenous history to promote local culture.
Glossary
Amalgamation: blending of cultures
Pueblo Revival: Pueblo Revival style or Santa Fe style is a regional architectural style of the Southwestern United States, which draws its inspiration from Santa Fe de Nuevo México’s traditional Pueblo architecture, the Spanish missions, and Territorial Style
Adobe: brick or building material of sun-dried earth and straw
Indigenous: groups of people that share ancestral ties to a certain area; direct descendents of original inhabitants prior to arrival of settlers and colonizers
Colonization: a nation and/or citizens of a nation extending control over a foreign entity and its inhabitants as a form of power
Santa Fe: the capital of New Mexico, and one of the oldest cities in the United States, one with strong influences from Spanish and indigenous populations
Spanish Missions: religious missions established by Spain during their colonization of the United States
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