John Gaw Meem - A Regional Architecture For The Southwest

A Regional Architecture For The Southwest

Meem was one of the first architects to be associated with the Regionalism that would increasingly influence American painting, literature and architecture during the 1920s and 1930s. He gained an extensive knowledge of Pueblo and Spanish Colonial building techniques through his volunteer work with the Committee for the Preservation and Restoration of New Mexico Mission Churches (CPRNMMC) during the 1920s and 1930s. Unlike many previous eclectic architects, however, Meem used architectural forms such as battered walls, vigas, and stepped parapets in combination with modern building techniques and materials to evoke the past without imitating it directly. He explained in a 1966 article that he used symbolic forms to "evoke a mood without attempting to produce an archaeological imitation."

Meem's finest works all found resonance with the soft, earthbound forms and materials that were part of the vernacular architecture of the Old Southwest. As the architect for the bishop and Archdiocese of Santa Fe from 1934 to 1944, he designed new churches in a number of styles evoking Hispanic precedents. He was a planner of note, stewarding the development of the University of New Mexico for several decades and working to ensure the preservation of the historic plaza and adobes in Old Santa Fe. Indeed, his name became synonymous with Santa Fe as a historic and artistic nexus during its 20th century reawakening.

Meem was known for his attention to detail, and his seemingly simple forms were actually the product of meticulous study and design based upon knowledge of precedents. His plans for Zimmerman Library included no fewer than 41 vertical wall sections and 21 parapet drawings illustrating exactly how he wanted the finished walls to appear. He also personally supervised their construction, ordering their reworking on more than one occasion.

As his designs matured, Meem found the means to extend the vocabulary of Southwest regional forms. Comparing the Zimmerman Library (1933–37) with the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center (1936–40) shows how a similar aesthetic could be rendered in different materials while maintaining a connection to type forms that are centuries old. In this extraordinary synthesis, Meem showed that modern architecture need not hew to the cold, anonymous vocabulary of the International Style, but might rather pursue direct connections to local building materials and traditions.