Southwestern Ornamentation and Design

Auteur

Anne Taylor, PhD, is a University of New Mexico Regents professor and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) distinguished Professor Emerita. She was a professor at the School of Architecture and Planning, University of New Mexico, and is known internationally for her research on physical environments and their effects on learning and behavior, and the teaching of architecture and design to children. Taylor attended Wells College and Arizona State University where her research area was human factors and the effects of the physical environment on learning and behavior of four year olds and English language learners. Through the years she has worked with architects to program and design newer schools and has developed an integrated design education curriculum installed in many schools internationally for use with teachers and children P/K-12+. This curriculum has been translated from English into Japanese. Taylor is the author of many articles and six books, among which are "Linking Architecture and Education: Sustainable Design of Learning Environments" and "Southwestern Ornamentation and Design, The Architecture of John Gaw Meem" that can be used by teachers, architects and others to explore with their students symbolic architecture and design thinking in a unique part of the United States.

Texte du rabat

John Gaw Meem was one of New Mexico's most renowned architects and his legacy is in part his contribution to the preservation and renewal of historic American Southwestern architecture. Because of his interest in the preservation, restoration and revival of this architecture, one of his major contributions was the design of a group of Spanish Pueblo Style buildings at the University of New Mexico. Today, Meem's Zimmerman Library remains a centerpiece for his designs on the campus. The archives of the Meem Room in the library contain a wealth of drawings done by Meem and this book lauds Meem's substantial use of crafted ornamentation and details such as gates, doors, corbels, fireplaces, metal work and light fixtures, and shows his sensitivity to the cultural environment he in turn contributed so much to as an example for homeowners, builders, and designers everywhere.