The Hero of "Santa Fe" Style

David Rasch

I see you, mister,

Patrolling through Santa Fe,

Style as your law.

 Santa Fe is undoubtedly a unique city, especially for someone accustomed to the plantations and swamps of the Antebellum-styled South. Adobe homes appear to erode into the desert landscape; even Taco Bell and Burger King seem to "blend" into the mountainous region. But the fascination with the upkeep of this seemingly traditional architecture quickly faded as my peers and I met with David Rasch (the subject of my opening haiku), a passionate member of the Santa Fe Historic Design Review Board. The Review Board, as we learned, is responsible for maintaining the aesthetic of historic areas of the city. Basically, David and his team make sure that Santa Fe maintains its "unique" exterior that outsiders find so appealing and reminiscent of a romantic past. David had prepared a presentation that touched on the history and evolution of what was previously Pueblo and Spanish Colonial architecture, and what eventually was fused and transformed into the widely appreciated "Santa Fe Style." The long and low adobe structures with recessed porches (now fancily known as portals, pronounced portaaaaahl), and wooden vigas were adopted from traditional Native American cultures and are now perceived as the most characteristically "Santa Fe" structures. Spanish Colonial style, including use of stone, large domes, and intricate woodwork, have also become a heavy influence on what David called "Territorial Revival Style." To preserve the "historic integrity" of Santa Fe, David's Board polices the historic district making sure that construction, alteration, or demolition has not occurred within their jurisdiction without the approval of the Board. In this way, the autonomy of home and business owners is limited by the ordinances of the city. While some, especially David, believe that this enforced perpetuation of a "historic" style of architecture is working to preserve the dignity and originality of Santa Fe, others like myself and some of my peers are disturbed by the inevitable fakeness that these ordinances call for. It is no longer practical or necessary like it once was to build out of adobe, and often homeowners are finding it less "green" or energy efficient to keep these traditional-styled homes. David also talked a lot about maintaining the vocabulary of Santa Fe Style (vigas, portals, adobe, etc..) while utilizing more permanent materials than what was traditionally used to build adobe structures. He showed us examples of buildings that were constructed with steel, concrete, and foam yet looked strikingly similar to real adobe. This new permanent Santa Fe adobe seems to be in conflict with the traditional Pueblo Indian belief that their homes are living structures that after they have served their purpose they perish and erode back into the earth. This disregard for the traditional purposes of adobe homes along with the use of adobe as an aesthetic appeal comes across as fake and somewhat disrespectful. While I found Santa Fe undoubtedly enchanting and beautiful, I could not remove myself from the strangeness of its prescribed style. For the amount of influence that the art community has on the current Santa Fe, I would hope and expect to see more creativity in the structures of the city. Despite all of these critiques, I loved my week in Santa Fe and hope to visit again.

Monica Chatterton