John Gaw Meem - Legacy

Legacy

Meem's influence on the city of Santa Fe was manifold. Not only did he design a large number of the city's most memorable buildings, he also headed the committee which authored the 1957 Historical Zoning Ordinance. This influential law ensured that all future buildings in central Santa Fe would adhere to the vernacular idioms and materials of the old quarter. Allowable design specifications were spelled out in considerable detail, guiding the development of the downtown for decades. With this, the city led the way toward sensitive preservation of historic districts throughout the United States. Though such strict adherence to one building tradition drew criticism, Meem's design sensibilities continue to influence new construction in Santa Fe today.

Meem also left a significant mark on the University of New Mexico campus, where his firm designed a total of 25 buildings between 1933 and 1959. He also served as a consultant on two later projects by Holien and Buckley. Two of the university buildings, Scholes Hall and Zimmerman Library, are regarded as some of Meem's most important works, and the library in particular is considered to be a masterpiece of southwestern architecture.

Most significantly, John Gaw Meem was an early advocate for an architecture of place instead of an architecture of machine-like standardization. He saw both the advantages and perils of Modernism, and strove always to ground his buildings in the rich tradition of southwest art and culture that were developed by Native Americans and extended by the Spanish. He saw his work not as historical replication but as a fresh, new interpretation of age-old methods of building in a hot, arid climate. Never one to trumpet his own importance over that of his beloved city, he nonetheless put a personal stamp on all of his best buildings that mark him as one of the most original designers of his time. In a new age of sustainability his work offers profound lessons about how to build in harmony with the land.

A number of Meen's works are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

The library at St. John's College, Santa Fe is named after Meem.