Architecture students study Silver City

SILVER CITY – Members of the Silver City/Grant County Chamber of Commerce heard about the work of the Silver City Design Field School, also known as Plata Studio, on Thursday during the chamber’s monthly meeting.

University of New Mexico School of Architecture Professor Tim Castillo, a native of Grant County, and Woodbury University Architecture Professor Stan Bertheaud brought students to the area this summer for two weeks in a collaboration with Western New Mexico University.

"We brought the students here to study the architecture patterns of Silver City," Castillo said. “We wanted the students to look at the community with fresh eyes, and to think out of the box.”

The students will return the next two summers to continue the project, which includes two weeks of field studies in Silver City and two weeks of design work by the student architects.

The field school allows students to explore the historical and contemporary evolution of the community and develop design proposals for rethinking the future potential of Silver City, according to the website, silvercitytourism.org.

The students were charged with developing data visualizations of social, cultural, political and environmental data and developing design proposals for the community, as well as creating a publication and digital repository of research documentation, according to the website.

The program is as a collaboration with WNMU, University of New Mexico and Woodbury University to engage in design research exploration of the built environment in Silver City.

“This project is in its very first stages,” said Geraldine Forbes-Isais, dean of architecture at UNM. “We couldn’t be more excited about working here in Silver City.”

Continuing to develop Silver City’s presence as an arts and culinary destination could have a significant impact on the city’s economic development, Forbes-Isais said.

One idea formulated by the students was a modernistic culinary institution built along the Big Ditch, with an overlook of the scenic downtown.

Another idea was a Mining District museum with a scenic overlook of the mines.

The group also looked to Telluride, Colo., for a model of a town that successfully branded itself as a tourist destination.

“Telluride has had great success with their film festival and their art weekend,” Forbes-Isais said. “Silver City is in a great position to do a film festival with the ‘Salt of the Earth’ connection.”

“Salt of the Earth” is a 1954 movie based on a long and difficult strike which occurred in Grant County in 1951.

In the film, the company is identified as "Delaware Zinc," and the setting is "Zinctown, New Mexico."

The film shows how the miners, the company, and the police react during the strike, and was directed and produced by blacklisted filmmakers during the “Red Scare” of the 1950s. The producers and director used actual miners and their families as actors in the film.

“For good or bad, love it or hate it, the film gives Grant County a strong tie for a film festival,” Forbes-Isais said.

One strength of Plata Studio, as far as the students are concerned, is the chance for the young architects to work with real life problems and real people, Castillo said.

“This gives the students a chance to step out of the academic realm and work on a project that can really help change a community,” he said.

The students will return to Silver City in May to take up the work again.

“We are going to be here for a while, and we want to hear your thoughts,” Forbes-Isais said.