Inside the Design of U. New Mexico's New School of Architecture

Architect Antoine Predock got to design his alma mater's new facility. This Architecture Week article describes the facility and his perspective on how the design came together:

the building is "an interpretation of what I think is wonderful about the area."

This interpretation is evident in the big concrete wall facing Central Avenue, which is part of historic Route 66. The wall signifies power and gravity to Predock; it is reminiscent of the towering sandstone cliffs of Canyon de Chelly. The monumental wall defines the building's relationship to the rest of the campus and establishes a strong presence on Central.

University design directives also required that the style and feel of the architecture building, named George Pearl Hall, integrate with other buildings on campus, which Predock says was achieved through the earthen color and stepped massing.

One goal was to facilitate intellectual sharing. "When you get inside the building, there are a lot of spatial dynamics where different levels visually connect with other levels," says Predock. "You have a real sense of students visually eavesdropping on each other's activities, and lots of cross-pollination. Ideas are constantly crossing over from one studio to the next."

By revealing infrastructure and environmental systems, the building constantly exposes students to its interior workings. Predock describes the building as being "turned inside out."