New Mexico School for the Arts

As the nation’s only public boarding school dedicated to talented arts students, the New Mexico School for the Arts (NMSA) provides transformational opportunities to promising young artists. Located at the intersection of Santa Fe’s historic core and the bohemian Railyard District, NMSA’s new home embraces the character of its eclectic context and the buildings’ rich histories. With a modest budget, historic overlays, and over a dozen structures built over the last 140 years, NMSA marries its dance, music, visual arts, theater, and creative writing programs for grades 9–12 with a harmonious ensemble of renovated and repurposed spaces.

In collaboration with Studio Southwest.

Because of the inherent visual, auditory, and sensory needs of the arts studios, many academic spaces offer an enhanced experience over a basic classroom setting. Abundant interior and exterior glazing display the life of the school, celebrating the process of learning and artistic mastery as much as the products produced within the school itself.

The multi-use spaces were designed to achieve a maximum overlap of programs while creating effective and inspirational arts and academic spaces. Most school rooms pirouette daily, from traditional academic space in the morning to arts studios in the afternoon.

Master Plan & Historical Context

To support NMSA’s evolution, Lake Flato designed a master plan for the growing school that ambitiously repurposed over a dozen different buildings built across 140 years.
The master plan relocated the school to an urban site in the Sanbusco Center, located at the intersection of Santa Fe’s historic core and bohemian Railyard District, featuring an existing lumber mill, storage depot, bookstore, and mini mall.
The integration of a dozen different structural, mechanical, façade, and roof systems into a high-performance school represented one of the project’s largest challenges.
While some suggested that the dilapidated Sanbusco structures should be razed, Santa Fe’s emphasis on honoring the history of the site influenced NMSA’s leadership to embrace the character of the complex.
The critical decision to renovate also had a profound overlay on the project’s sustainable ethos. Nearly every major structural and wall system was retained to reduce the project’s carbon footprint.
By maintaining the footprint of the existing structures, the design reduced the cost of construction while celebrating the historic, endearing, and ad hoc character of the buildings.
This project creatively adapts a historic building into an extremely functional building for the school. The historic and industrial scale was very thoughtfully handled and fit the use beautifully. Christiana Moss, FAIA

Texas Society of Architects Awards Juror

Located at the edge of Santa Fe’s urban core, Sanbusco is easily accessible by foot, bike, bus, or rail. Several dozen students come daily from Albuquerque and adjacent communities via the ‘Railrunner’ commuter train. Since Santa Fe identifies itself as an arts community, an accessible project that preserved a funky yet venerated structure resonated with residents. The public school status of NMSA’s charter completes an institution that’s equitable, inclusive, and diverse.