Wa-Di— housing, health, and healing

ANEWHOUSING PROJECT AT KEWA (SantoDomingo) Pueblo incorporates a healing element for the tribe. Dominant in the site plan is a large circular area that recalls a locomotive roundhouse, but there’s more to the reference than tribute. “This was a railroad village on land that was stolen from the tribe,” said Shawn Evans, one of the principals of Atkin Olshin Schade Architects. “It’s a very difficult part of their history and they really wanted to redevelop it and reclaim this as a place that was theirs. It’s really a transformation and turning into a place of nourishment. That’s a community garden now.”

The radial grounds include theWa-Di Community Center, a tot lot, playground, and an orchard and planter beds. “It’s really wonderful to see children running through the spaces and having a wonderful time and having a safe space to play and grow up and learn from the elders.”

TheWa-Di Housing project recently won a Merit Award from the Santa Fe chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

Initiated to provide “healthy homes and a fresh start for tribal families,” according to a project statement from AOS Architects, it includes 41 residential units ranging from 1-bedroom (820 square feet) to 4-bedroom (1,810 square feet). Each home has a small, detached work shed for artist and craftsman activities. “Those little 64-square foot sheds are very important,” Evans said. “So many of the Santo Domingo people are involved in the production of jewelry, which also creates very poor air quality, especially for the kids and elders. There is lot of asthma in that community. A lot of our project is really grounded around health.”

The $7.8 million project was funded through low-income housing tax credits and built to Enterprise Green Communities criteria. The houses were built with low-VOC materials and have whole-house fans and water-conserving plumbing fixtures. They take advantage of passive-solar design and were outfitted with rainbarrels for roofwater catchment.

“This project really dates back over a decade in planning and thinking and is connected towork that TonyAtkin [the founder of Atkin Olshin Schade Architects] and I did academically with design studios from the University of Pennsylvania planning new communities in this area,” Evans said. “It’s connected to anOur Town grant, which was an National Endowment for theArts program for community planning in which we worked very closely with the community on growth that was culturally appropriate and self-determined.”

The interesting visual palette of duplexes, triplexes, and sheds exists in a spectacularly open landscape with moun- tains in the distance. Nonya Grenader, one of the AIA jurors, said, “There is a meaningful conversation between the carefully placed buildings and the magnificent landscape.”

Another project attribute is its proximity to the New Mexico Rail Runner Express station and the newly rebuilt and renovated trading post, affording residents easy access to potential jobs and an outlet for jewelry sales.

Evan Geisler, AOS senior project manager, added, “One of the important things that Shawn touched on is the space between the homes. It seems to the the most interesting part of it. There aren’t any fences, there aren’t any delineations of mine or yours and that was purposely done to encourage community, conversation, and play, and it seems to work really well.”— PaulWeideman

PHOTOS BY MINESH BACRANIA COURTESY AOS ARCHITECTS