The Plazas of New Mexico - by Chris Wilson & Stefanos Polyzoides (Hardcover)

About the Book

The definitive, richly illustrated, investigation of New Mexico's Hispanic plazas, Native American center places, and Anglo courthouse squares

Book Synopsis

The Plazas of New Mexico documents the rich heritage of New Mexico's plazas and the everyday life and community celebrations that help sustain them. It traces three distinct design traditions -- the Native American center place with kiva and terraced residential blocks, the Hispanic plaza with church and courtyard houses, and the Anglo square with courthouse and business blocks. This landmark volume has resulted from a multi-year research project involving 50 students, a half dozen faculty members, and outside experts working through the Historic Preservation and Regionalism program at the University of New Mexico School of Architecture and Planning. New Mexico's plazas, like urban spaces everywhere, are gaining renewed attention in this time when the challenges of sustainability have sparked the Smart Growth movement, urban revitalization and intensified historic preservation. Detailing the success of restoration projects, this book shows how to encourage heritage tourism in the service of, rather than at the expense of, local quality of life and community sustainability.

Review Quotes

"Meant as a both record of how New Mexican cities developed and as a resource for city planners and architects, The Plazas of New Mexico describes plazas as holders of sacred spaces in the collective memory."-- Santa Fe Reporter

"Digs deep into that past to unearth a proud tradition for the future."-- Albuquerque Journal North

About the Author

Miguel Gandert is one of America's leading documentary photographers. He has exhibited throughout the world. His series Nuevo Mexico Profundo: Rituals of an Indo-Hispano Homeland was the subject of a book and a one-person exhibition for the National Hispanic Culture Center of New Mexico, and his work was selected for the 1993 Whitney Museum Biennial. He is a Distinguished Professor of Communication and Journalism at the University of New Mexico.