ABSTRACT
Pueblo style is not a style, it is a way of life shaped by a reaction to the desert climate, available building materials, and cultural and mythical forces. The timeless nature of Anasazi forms signifies that there are elemental forces of spirit that pervade the architecture of this place and offer a typology in which all things are possible. The work of my firm in Albuquerque, Westwork Architects, takes measure of the issues that can choke the growth of new meanings in the architecture of this region and attempts to offer some thoughtful responses. The Human Services field office is a literal synthesis of archetypal forms of the small villages and towns of New Mexico. This project houses social programs for the residents of the area and speaks in direct allusion to these neighbors. A freestanding colonnade signifies the welcoming entry portal of the traditional hacienda, and flat-roofed masses of the building are a universal response to vernacular Pueblo form.
