Rio Grande Regeneration

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE 
PETE V. DOMINICI FEDERAL COURTHOUSE, ALBUQUERQUE, NM,  2012

This SITES Pilot project transformed a 3.3 acre forlorn, paved public plaza and inaccessible lawn built in 1998 into a showpiece of sustainable design for arid climates. A work of land art was developed through creative re-purposing of materials, and the introduction of climate appropriate plantings, storm water management and photovoltaics.

The forms were inspired by the site’s cultural and ecological history, deriving geometry from both Pueblo patterning and traditional Acequia irrigation ditches and check dams. What was once unoccupiable becomes a welcoming, comfortable, sustainable place for the people of Albuquerque and a demonstration of the best of the United States democratic values.