Taos: Leader in Green Architectural Design for Over 600 Years

January 18, 2010

New Mexico, and Taos in particular, is known internationally for a unique architecture that seems to relate particularly well to its environment. Many people may not realize that these traditions were begun over 600 years ago, or that this architecture was “sustainable� before that concept was an ideological glimmer in the mind of some forward-thinking hippie. Our ancient forefathers—like many of our leading-edge local designers today—designed buildings that embraced locally available materials and used building shapes and orientations that were a direct response to the hot-arid environment and frigid winters. In architectural parlance, this is called Vernacular Architecture, and within it are lessons we can use to improve our built environment.

When the earliest people came through Taos, they did not stay. They would hunt and gather, then move along to the next place. The nomads found places they liked, often in seasonal locations, and wanted to stake a claim on that spot so they would not constantly have to be building a shelter; they would build a semi-permanent shelter that they could return to the next season. They built pit-houses several feet down into the earth, upon which they would construct a roof of wood beams and layers of branches covered in soil and sod. This ingenious design maintained a constant temperature of approximately 56 degrees throughout the year. A small fire efficiently heated the space in the winter and provided a warm and comfortable, if not exactly bright and airy, home for early Native American families. [A visit to an accurate interpretation of a pit-house is included in SMU-in-Taos’ archaeological curriculum and can be experienced through the free lectures and tours conducted by SMU with the Taos Archaeological Society, for those who might be interested in seeing one up close.]

With population growth and increasing attacks by neighbors, local families banded together into loosely associated tribes and began building small, fortified versions of the buildings we know as pueblos. The stacked design and thick earthen walls of the pueblos act very much like big, above-ground versions of the pit house: the cool inner core maintains a relatively constant near-earth temperature that can be accentuated with fires in stacked hearths. This allows all the levels of the pueblo to stay cool in summer and also to share heat in winter. Originally designed for security, the small, highly placed windows also serve to minimize the reflection of sunlight off the ground and into the homes, and eliminate glare. Large outdoor terraces allow for communion directly with nature, and portale shading devices provide cool outdoor spaces for living in the summer. The southeast orientation of the Pueblo maximizes solar gain in winter. I only realized recently, in a conversation with painter Anita Rodriguez about her experiences when she worked on the Pueblo years ago, that one of the greatest benefits of pueblo architecture is proximity—your grammie might be just a few feet away, so on days she was not feeling well, you could take her a pot of posole and a warm blanket very easily. When you think about it, there is no better neighborhood than one in which everyone is accountable to everyone else and you can work together to accomplish collective goals and take care of one another. There is also no better security system.

Spanish settlers arrived in the early 17th century and started building a community based on agriculture. They brought with them several important concepts—architecturally, the most important was the hacienda. The hacienda is manifest in various scales and La Loma Plaza (a true Spanish Colonial plaza located a few blocks west of the main plaza)—and even the central plaza in town—effectively function as gigantic haciendas. Haciendas were critical for security, in that they provided a protected entry and exit and presented a fortified face to the outside. Windows on the outside walls were non-existent or small and highly placed, providing security as well as solar protection. Spanish Colonial structures were only as deep as the length of locally available vigas, minimizing the amount of material needed. The covered walks around the interior courtyard effectively shade the exterior spaces in summer, and also prevent ice from forming on the walkways in winter, minimizing the need for maintenance and also protecting building foundations and walkways from frost damage. This interior courtyard is also an effective means of cooling in the summer heat. The small windows on the outside walls, windows on second floors and vents through the earthen roofs can be opened, creating a type of natural air-conditioning called “stack effect.� The interior courtyard is the pièce de résistance. Frequently planted with trees, the courtyard provides shade as well as an outdoor living area and is often also the site of the well. Having a well and associated fountains allows humidity to cool the air through evapo-transpiration. To put this in easy terms, it is a swamp cooler—the cooler air sinks and fills the courtyard, thereby making it even more comfortable.

Later inhabitants of Taos brought with them new building materials and techniques of construction common to the places they migrated from. Many modified the design of the early Taos buildings, adding pitched roofs and ornate detailing that became known as the “Territorial Style,� but it was the very earliest settlers of Taos who really set the standard for green design.

In the mid-20th century, homes in Taos, like those everywhere else, became dependant on mechanical heating and cooling, and the techniques of our forefathers were all but lost in favor of inexpensive, less labor-intensive, less maintenance-requiring framed faux adobe. Living in the desert has a unique way of showing us how to live in relationship with nature, however, and several local designers today are moving away from these energy-dependent practices and integrating the design techniques of the past with modern “green� or sustainable design. Some of our current Taoseño designers are working in both traditional and modern architectural vocabularies while maximizing the use of local materials, using salvaged parts from old buildings as well as recycled, non-traditional materials like earth-stuffed tires. They are integrating solar systems, greywater reuse and water harvesting techniques into their designs as well as orienting the building to take advantage of solar heat-gain in winter, while also minimizing solar impact in summer through shading.

As the Town implements its new High Performance Building Ordinance—which went into effect January 1 and will have an important impact on how much energy goes into buildings—our architecture and building community will have an opportunity to integrate lessons from the old ways to make our new buildings perform better and achieve energy efficiency, in a culturally and historically appropriate way. Imagine a condo complex—a great idea for affordable housing—that was designed in a similar manner to La Loma Plaza. La Loma is filled with neighbors, some of whom have lived there for multiple generations. Personally, living way out on a ranch in Des Montes, I do not know my neighbors now. If I had to give up open space so I could afford my own home, I would like to know who my neighbors are, have a community garden, a courtyard with a fountain to provide cool humid air and a place to be outside—a safe place to be where my neighbors and I could watch out for each other—and a beautiful park, full of trees, that we built and planted together for our kids to play in. Not to mention that the hacienda-style minimizes the exposure of exterior walls, which is where heating and cooling are lost! By having neighbors attached on each side, we share heat in winter and help each other stay cool in summer. It is good design. It is our history. It is appropriate to our place and our collective culture. It encourages neighborly behavior. We might all even have nice views if these affordable units are well designed—and be able to use greywater recycling for irrigation and solar panels to provide electricity and hot water! I am excited about the possibilities—this just feels like everything I want in my “home� and it makes a difference in the ecological footprint of our community. What could be better?

Whether it’s a recycled, hand-built building on the mesa, a high style energy-balanced building, a building that is totally off the grid and designed in the old style to minimize any use of mechanical or electrical—or even if you want to restore your old building to its former glory and use its original design features to minimize energy needs—Taos is the ideal place to re-discover the very best in green design.

Rachel Preston is an architectural designer whose focus is on technology-free green design, historic preservation, and creating spaces of sanctuary. You can email her at intentiondesign@gmail.com or visit her website archinia.com.