Interview with Pedro Marquez 

Pedro Marquez is an award-winning architect, cowboy singer, and rancher whose personal history in New Mexico and Southern Colorado reflects the rich cultural traditions of this area.  Trained at University of New Mexico, Marquez designed the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque and the Las Campanas Hacienda Clubhouse in Santa Fe, as well as numerous other projects and fine homes.  He maintains his family’s historical ranch in the San Luis Valley in Colorado.

Why do you live in Santa Fe?

PM: I was born and raised here, and I also have a small ranch in the San Luis Valley in Southern Colorado.  I wanted to be close to home and raise my children here because of the cultural aspects of area.  My roots go very deep here – my family came in with the Spanish and has been here for 11 generations.  Also, Santa Fe is just a beautiful place as a city in America – culturally, architecturally and scenically.

How do your family’s history and your own experience ranching inform your architecture?

PM: Ranching absolutely informs my architecture.  It’s been a difficult run because it’s hard to build a ranch, build a practice and raise a family all at the same time.  But the rich traditions of ranching in America – the western lifestyle; the husbanding of cattle, horses and the land; and the nature of being a caretaker – inform my approach to designing.  Ranching also has a strong sense of storytelling and, in this area, combines rich cultural aspects from Spain, the Americas and the U.S.  Part of that legacy for me is maintaining a ranch in this area and remodeling its old family buildings: How do you take those buildings and give them new life? You honor the original buildings and the people who built them and then you add to them with that in mind. This link allows me to do progressive, more modern projects knowing I’m also honoring the historical aspects of the area. It’s grounding and it keeps me moving the envelope forward.

Are there certain things about being an architect in New Mexico that you find unique or especially compelling?

PM:  Regionally, there is a really strong prototype for buildings here – from the smallest outbuildings to superstructures. What’s powerful about the architecture here is that it’s based on the indigenous materials. I love the materials and the palette that we have to work with in this region, and I’m including New Mexico, Colorado, west Texas, western Oklahoma and Kansas and eastern Arizona in this definition of regional. Stone, mud, adobe – earth and timbers – present this solid palette that’s earthy and warm.  It’s these indigenous materials that really turn me on – even in some of the contemporary things we do – that and doing architecture in this light.  Working with this light and with the materials of this arid landscape – it’s a powerful medium.

We deal with the cultural and historic aspects of architecture here, too. The precedents of architecture in this area are very strong and very inspiring.  For example, consider the beautiful stone architecture from things like cliff dwellings to mission churches at Quarai, Abo and Gran Quivira and how that merges into beautiful adobe.

How would you describe your approach to architecture?

PM: I am a storyteller first and foremost – in architecture, in music, and in my own life – and I love to tell people’s stories through their homes or a community’s through its common projects.  I base it on an assimilation of their own histories and past and present, their site, their budget, their hopes, dreams and wishes.  And then I synthesize all of this information into a built form. It’s that process of synthesis and assimilation, of all of these different aspects and levels. that is essentially a process of storytelling.  The process is multi-fold.

Are there certain materials and styles with which you most like to work?

PM: No, I love it all.  I was trained as a modernist, but I love the traditional aspects of architecture.  I love the picturesque.  I really love doing houses, and I enjoy them a lot because they’re personal – the personal aspects of doing homes are fascinating.  And I love the personalities that come through this office.