"Things Don’t
Just Happen"
Garrett
Smith breaks new ground for Architecture and Planning
by Janice Myers
“Architects come in many persuasions. Some are content to plan numbered buildings according to strict government specifications. Others are driven to create innovative, beautiful, socially uplifting spaces. UNM alumnus/architect/adjunct professor Garrett Smith is happily entrenched in the latter camp. “I believe in the transforming power of good design,” he says.
The UNM
School of Architecture and Planning believes in the transforming
power of Garrett Smith. Over the past several years, the architect has poured
enthusiasm and energy into “adding value” to the school. In fact,
he serves as vice chairman of the fund-raising campaign for George
Pearl Hall, the 100,000-square-foot architecture building that will
occupy a site adjacent to the UNM Bookstore. The campaign, which has been
in its “quiet phase,” soon will yield to the public phase, where
gifts of all sizes are sought in a more formalized manner from alumni and
friends.
Smith’s involvement with the school has been largely low-key, in man-behind-the-curtain
fashion. You won’t find him pontificating before a class of awestruck
Frank Gehry wanna-bes. Instead, Smith-seekers must journey to an arty, two-story
building squeezed between Magnifico! and Skip Maisel’s Trading Post
on Central Avenue in downtown Albuquerque. Inside, a brushed-steel balustrade,
a masterwork of 3-D forms (sort of Euclid-Meets-Gaudí), leads up an
angular flight of stairs to the firm of Garrett Smith Ltd.
The architect is thoughtfully leafing through a book in his long, narrow office
overlooking the street. Nine other workspaces stretch southward like railroad
ties, an optimal arrangement for this skinny, loft-like space. All nine spaces
are occupied by busy individuals, but despite the activity, the quiet is pervasive.
Smiling, Smith appears, extending a hand and shepherding the visitor into
his office. Like any architect’s digs, it’s liberally strewn with
photos and foam core. One such board, a collage of student snapshots, sketches,
and journal snippets, bears the legend “Veni, Vidi, Vico.” “Vico
Morcote,” he explains. “It’s on the border between Switzerland
and Italy, in the Lakes Region.” Clearly, the small hill town (pop.
150) occupies a sizable place in Smith’s heart; he lights up at the
thought.
The Italian Experience
Smith recalls two defining experiences in his development as an architect: A year he spent in the Vico Morcote area, and his relationship with his late friend and mentor Michele Pilet, a classically trained UNM professor of architecture. “He was a wonderful, wonderful human being,” says Smith. As a result, in 2000, with the generous help of adjunct faculty Steve Borbas and Bob Heiser, Smith established a summer travel experience for UNM architecture and planning students. The International Studies Program features a month-long stay in Vico Morcote, in a 500-year-old monastery-turned-villa above a restaurant.
From the first embrace of the golden Italian light, so different from the
fabled clarity of New Mexico’s own, “it’s cultural immersion,”
explains Smith. “We study the art, the architecture, the land, the climate,
the flora, and, of course, the food and the wine. You can’t understand
architecture and planning apart from their cultural context. Things don’t
just happen.”
Side trips to architecturally significant sites—such as Nôtre
Dame du Haut chapel in Ronchamp, France, LeCorbusier’s tour de force
in the manipulation of natural light—enable students to get goose-bumps
in important spaces they’ve previously revered only in two dimensions.
Smith also schedules visits to museums, biological gardens, a stone quarry,
and a farm. The chef at the villa’s restaurant serves up a dazzling
array of grilled meats, pastas, and sauces. “They’re transformed
by the whole experience, especially those who have never been outside the
US, or even the Southwest,” enthuses Smith. “Can you imagine?
One day they’re in New Mexico’s arid climate, then suddenly they’re
swimming in Lake Lugano every day.”
The typical group of, at most, 14, comprises graduate students and undergraduates
of every level, in architecture, planning, and landscape architecture. “This
is the perfect venue for cross-pollination,” says Smith. He allows that
the dynamics of the first week are interesting, but adds, “By the end
of four weeks, they’re a tight group of friends.” Students keep
journals and sketchbooks, enjoy a guest speaker each week, and save weekends
for play. For students who cannot afford the cost of the program and airfare
in addition to regular UNM tuition, Smith offers a few scholarships. He hopes
to grow an endowment to fund more scholarships for students of limited financial
means.
Vico Morcote is an ideal spot for comparing Italy’s centuries-old architecture
with the mid-20th-century development of Switzerland. On trips to cities such
as Venice and Verona, students encounter important architecture and study
urban development. “Urban planning in European cities is totally different
from the American version,” maintains Smith. “In the U.S., we
design around the automobile. In Europe, the city predates the automobile,
and space is at a tremendous premium.” Here in Albuquerque, Garrett
Smith Ltd. undertakes many “urban infill” projects, which pose
some challenges similar to those encountered in European cities.
The heady Continental experience culminates in a design assignment such as
a winery and house, for which students pick a site, hold daily discussions,
and ultimately come up with a plan. When the travelers finally return to New
Mexico, family and friends are likely to notice some changed attitudes and
newly adopted customs among their Euro-students.
For professionals and patrons craving the Vico experience, Smith has appended
a one-week program at the end of the month. The relatively modest cost, says
Smith, will also benefit the program endowment. (For more information, please
contact Smith at 505-766-6968.)
Integral Design
At a time when writers bemoan the shrinking vocabularies of the general public, Smith sees a greater appreciation for architecture and design. “Good design makes a significant contribution on multiple levels, some of which are intangible,” he says. “Even if the public doesn’t understand the intangible benefits, there is a greater interest in good architecture.”
While the less informed may see only aesthetics, Smith views his design work
as an investment in society. Urban infill, affordable housing, health clinics,
and the rejuvenation of historic neighborhoods “do positive things for
people,” he says. The eclectic mix of styles in urban areas does not
trouble him in the least. “Good design goes with good design, regardless
of when it was built,” he says.
“Things don’t just happen” is Garrett Smith’s philosophy
of how culture shapes design and urban development. It may also account for
his active involvement in UNM’s School of Architecture and Planning.
Things don’t just happen, so Garrett Smith is helping them along.
George Pearl Hall capital campaign and International Studies Program endowment If you would like to contribute to the capital campaign for George Pearl Hall or to the endowment for the International Studies Program, please call Pam Hurd-Knief, the development officer for the UNM School of Architecture and Planning, at (505) 277-6442; or send her your check, made out to the UNM Foundation, at the School of Architecture and Planning, 2414 Central SE, Albuquerque, NM, 87131. Please indicate which fund you wish your gift to support. You can give on line at www.unm.edu/foundation by specifying the program in the “further instructions” box on the secure on-line giving form. |
Contact the UNM Foundation for information about ways to give, schools & programs, Presidential Scholars, and giving societies.
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