January 1, 2002 |

Sanders Rogers Architects, PC , Villa Guadalupe

Villa Guadalupe – Gallup, New Mexico
Sanders Rogers Architects, PC – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Type of Facility/Setting: Nursing-Home-based Subacute

Facility Contact: Sister Gonzague

Firm: Sanders Rogers Architects, PC, (505) 247-1168

Design Team: James Rogers, Architect; C. David Day, Project Manager (Sanders Rogers Architects, PC); Jeff Mortensen, Civil Engineer (Jeff Mortensen & Associates, Inc.); Stan Neujahr, Structural Engineer (Neujahr & Gorman, Inc.); Jim Feeney, Mechanical Engineer (Jim Feeney Consulting, Inc.); Dennis Scarcell, Electrical Engineer (Allied Engineering)

Photography: Kirk E. Gittings

Resident Capacity: 24

Space/Resident (sq. ft.): 500

Total Area (sq. ft.): 12,000 (new construction)

Total Cost (excluding land): Not available

Cost/Sq. Ft.: Not available

Completion: April 2001

Construction of the new addition presented several challenges, given a steeply sloping hillside site, poor soil-bearing conditions and a limited area in which to build. The three-story structure is situated to minimize the building footprint while maximizing adjacent landscaped areas between the new and existing building structures.

A massive wall and tower element are constructed along the north fatade of the addition, to maintain privacy between the new apartments and the adjacent convent cloister. Arrayed along this linear element, the apartment masses are oriented due south in order to maximize their solar exposure, and they are offset to preserve eastern views, which are important to the facility’s numerous Native American residents. The resulting stepped configuration of the interior passage also allows for the individualization of each unit entry.

Floor-to-ceiling fenestration at the southeast corner of each unit takes full advantage of broad landscape views. Generous roof overhangs and balconies provide shade for these large windows but are sized to admit winter sunlight for passive solar heating. Each unit is accessed from a skylight atrium, which introduces generous amounts of natural light. Reminiscent of the region’s indigenous architecture, small, deeply recessed window openings of various sizes are installed at key locations along the length of the north wall. These provide isolated views of the northern red-rock countryside from the building’s upper hallways.

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