2011 - Pecha Kucha Taos: The Pattern Language of Taos Architecture
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See the original video, with audio at http://www.pechakucha.org/cities/taos/presentations/the-pattern-language-of-taos-architecture Visit our website www.archinia.com to see more of Firm Principal Rachel Preston Prinz' presentations or like us at https://www.facebook.com/ArchiniaDesign
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2011 - Pecha Kucha Taos: The Pattern Language of Taos Architecture
- 1. The Pattern Language of Taos Architecture By Rachel Preston Prinz For Taos Pecha Kucha Night III – June 2011
- 2. Old Spanish Trail & Town of Taos Projects: Miles Flown: 1620 Miles Hiked (trails): 30 Miles Driven: 4150 Miles Walked (Taos): 25
- 4. What is an Architectural Language? It’s a way of seeing beyond “Style”…
- 5. An Architectural Pattern Language is a way of applying archaeological & architectural theory to learn what buildings “Mean”, and what they “Say.” We study this so that we can use the language in new ways… To create entirely NEW ARCHITECTURE that stays true to more than just style. It understand it’s place, and responds to it, in modern ways… informed by the past…
- 6. For instance… What buildings say about …
- 7. BEYOND STYLE LANGUAGES Time – Space – Perspective Community & Family Spirit (includes light-shadow, full-void) Relationships with: Earth Water Air Fire
- 8. Building Uses: Sacred & Secular Commercial & Residential Social Values: Community / Family / Self Aesthetic values: Symmetry Craftsmanship Detail Response to environment
- 10. MASSING
- 12. FENCES
- 15. SPIRIT
- 16. SECURITY
- 17. WINDOWS DOORS
- 19. SHADE
- 20. VIEWS / DELIGHT
- 21. For more Information, visit: TaosArchitecture.blogspot.com And come see how we are using this information to create an entirely new GREEN architecture for New Mexico at TEDxABQ in September!
Editor's Notes
- Hello. My name is Rachel Preston Prinz and I am an architectural designer and historian here in Taos. I am working on 2 major projects right now, the first nominating the Old Spanish National Historical Trail to the National Register of Historic Places, which involves Spanish Colonial sites in 6 states, and the second re-documenting the structures in Taos’ Historic District.
- When I am working, I spend a lot of time doing just a few things: travelling, listening, and taking photographs.This is how most people see me.
- After spending all that time on the road for the OST project, I came back to Taos and started documenting our old buildings.Then, I realized that a lot of what we think we know about our history overlooks some of the most important things about who we are – its as if the “rules of style” forgot that we are a community-oriented, spiritual and sensual people.
- As an architectural designer, I realized that if we can honor the spirit of the historical precedents instead of just gluing on some historical looking details, we can create modern designs that fit into our historic fabric in a new and better way.
- So we ask what does this architecture tell us about these people. So, let’s look at one aspect of that… LightHere is one of the oldest spaces in Taos, the Luna chapel at the Couse Sharp Historic Site, and we can see how it’s been modified to allow in more light. Then starting from the top… DH Lawrence’s paintings in the bath of the Mabel Dodge Luhan house, which he did because he felt too “vulnerable” in the open-windowed space.An opaque opening in a fence off Amistad Lane And the colorful play of light in an earthship.Evidently, we value natural light no matter what time period we are building in.
- So we start to look at the way ALL of our architecture responds to different forces – time, space, views, community, family, ego, the environment...Seeing how we build tells us about the real values of the people.All architecture responds to these forces. The question is… how does it here in Taos? And has that changed over time or are the old responses still valid?
- All the information swirls together to make a singular being - this thing we call Taos. It’s made up of lots of different parts that can be combined and recombined to create new things. Lets take a few minutes to look at the universal values shared in all the periods of Taos’ architecture.
- In all of the historical styles, and even in the modern earthships, the first architectural notion that stands out is structural integrity… There is no extra fluffor glued-on stuff here. Vigas actually support the roof planks which support the roof, and the vigas penetrate the walls.The vigas are covered on the outside with metal guards, they rest on beams which rest on corbels and are held up by columns. The walls are thick where they need to be and buttressed where they are weakest.This implies that we value economy of materials and effort… and we value stability.
- Massing is another unique aspect of our architecture. We can take a mass, composed completely of positive space, and use different versions of thickness and height to create negative space around it.This connects us to the earth, because in almost all cases these buildings are “fat-bottomed” which implies stability, and also… follows the tradition of the Puebloan people who built their stacked home complexes to look like mountains.
- The Puebloans also used water in a different way than those that followed – they dammed up streams and used the natural drainages as an early form of acequia. The Spaniards formalized that arrangement by building actual ditches. In the acequias and in our architecture, one thing remains constant – the desert winds and the flowing waters will remove any edges.Thus, our architectural forms are flowing and smooth. When we embrace that, its also very beautiful.
- Inside and outside, Architecture in Taos has texture. The walls which separate that which is within (private) from that which is without (public) are reflections of who we are and what we believe. Economy of materials dictates that we use what is most readily available. Our sense of beauty dictates that we use it with style and texture in mind.
- I love taking photos in Taos and inverting them. This helps us to see the relationship of positive to negative, and shows our appreciation of the balance of full to void.
- When I pointed out earlier that we love beauty in Taos, I wasn’t kidding. In Taos, beauty takes many literal and ephemeral forms.Line, color, texture are foremost.
- Another aspect of our architecture that might not jump out without looking, is that we give spirit a place to reside. Almost every wall has some niche or a place set aside for an offering.
- In the historic district, things started out sketchy. Taos itself was built on the corner of the Pueblo because when the Comanches were raiding, the settlers wanted to be able to close the town gates and run to the Pueblo for protection. This language continues til this day, and there’s hardly a window or door in town that doesn’t remind us of the very beginnings of our history.
- Color is another factor of how Taosenos see beauty. We use color with wild abandon sometimes. This is amusing if you realize that our earliest settlements were all started by Franciscans, who pledge a vow of austerity, or simplicity. Despite the fact that our people have tended to be religious, we have also tended to wear our passionate nature on our facades for everyone to see.Our favorite color is any of the more than 400 known variations of Taos Blue – purported to be the color of the sky at noon on a clear day.
- One of the most important aspects of our architecture, and one that we have lost in modern times except on the mesa where they have also forgotten much of it, is that our buildings once responded to our environment. The shaded porches here act like a natural cooling system, and the well encourages humidity. This is natural A/C, and it works. Also, we once used to have small, highly placed windows throughout our buildings. These minimized the amount of sun reflection off the desert floor and because they were usually open, provided for a heat escape for the rising warm air.(I love this photo of this window at the top right because it makes me want to touch my bellybutton!!)
- Shade is a critical component of our homes and buildings. There’s rarely a home without a porch or portale of some sort. Though, once upon a time we knew to put our porches on the south and west. Nowadays you’ll see them just about anywhere, which misses the point, and the opportunity to cool the outer walls of the home in Summer, when its most needed.
- As a passionate people with a long history of being in relationship with the land, whether it be Native, Spaniard, or otherwise… we love our beloved mountains, and our desert. To that end, we create ways of honoring them – usually by framing them with openings, windows and portales.Its as if we remember that we are here because Taos Mountain didn’t “chew us up and spit us out.” We make an architectural space to honor that too.
- Thanks for having me here today. I hope that I’ve helped you to love Taos architecture a little more. We’ve built a blog called The Architect’s Guide to Taos if you’d like to see more examples of the language in action. The address is posted here or you can google Taos Architecture.We’ll be speaking at TEDxABQ in Sept. to talk about how we are using what we have learned working with our peers in the field of archaeology… using history to inform the design of an entirely new architecture that’s truly sustainable and not technology dependent, that respect our unique and varied culture, and that feels like home.