John Gaw Meem
Encyclopedia
John Gaw Meem IV was an American architect
based in Santa Fe
, New Mexico
. He is best known for his instrumental role in the development and popularization of the Pueblo Revival style. Meem is regarded as one of the most important and influential architects to have worked in New Mexico.
, Brazil
, the eldest child of parents who were missionaries of the Episcopal Church
. In 1910 he traveled to the United States to attend Virginia Military Institute
, where he obtained a degree in civil engineering
. After graduating, he worked briefly for his uncle's engineering firm in New York
before being called up for military service. Having spent the duration of World War I
at a training camp in Iowa
, Meem was hired by the National City Bank of New York and sent to Rio de Janeiro
. Soon after arriving in Brazil, however, he was diagnosed with tuberculosis
. Like many other tuberculosis patients of his time, Meem decided to seek the cure in the dry desert climate of New Mexico. He arrived at the Sun Mount Sanatorium in Santa Fe in the spring of 1920.
, who was a fellow patient at Sunmount. Both men found inspiration in the landscape and buildings of the old southwest. Meem also developed an interest in the preservation of historic buildings, a pursuit that would occupy him throughout his career.
In 1922, having recovered sufficiently to spend time away from the sanatorium, he spent fifteen months working for the firm of Fisher & Fisher
in Denver. In the evenings he attended the Atelier Denver, a studio affiliated with the Beaux-Arts Institute of Design
in New York. This constituted Meem's only formal training in architecture. Informally, Meem studied the Spanish churches and missions and was inspired by their simple forms. He would later write about creating an "old new architecture" that combined modern planning with adobe forms.
Upon Meem's return to Sunmount in 1924, he and fellow patient Cassius McCormick opened their own architecture practice, using one of the sanatorium's spare buildings as a studio. Meem handled the design work, while McCormick managed the business side of the enterprise. Their first commission was the renovation and expansion of a house belonging to Hubert Galt, yet another fellow patient. Another of his earliest commissions was the home of Tex Austin
at the Forked Lightning Ranch. The home is now part of the Pecos National Historic Park. More significant were his houses for Cyrus McCormick, Jr.and Amelia Hollenbeck. Both incorporated traditional adobe construction techniques and domestic typologies, later becoming models for dozens of "Santa Fe style" residences in the area.
McCormick returned to his home state of Indiana
in 1928, dissolving the partnership. Meem's most significant work during this period was his remodeling of the La Fonda Hotel in Santa Fe, which called upon him to respect the vernacular forms of the original while updating the building for contemporary uses. He proved adept at this balancing of preservation with new design, leading to other work with old buildings in the area. Meem was head of the Historic American Buildings Survey in New Mexico from 1934 until 1955.
Between 1928 and the beginning of World War II
Meem's office remained small, employing only a handful of drafters, though his reputation was growing. In 1930 he entered and won a national competition to select a design for the Laboratory of Anthropology in Santa Fe. Among his competitors was the firm of Fisher & Fisher, where he had been apprenticed just a few years earlier. Then in 1933 he was selected as the official architect of the University of New Mexico
in Albuquerque, a position he would hold until his retirement. His best-known work at the University was the iconic Zimmerman Library, completed in 1938. Later that year Meem achieved international recognition for the monumental Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center
, which is generally regarded as his masterpiece. It was while working on this project that he met his wife Faith, whom he married in 1933.
The war kept Meem's firm occupied with a large number of military and government commissions, and his staff at one point reached 35 employees. Hugo Zehner, who had been with Meem since 1930, was promoted to partner in 1940. Another partner, Edward O. Holien, joined in 1944, making the firm Meem, Zehner, Holien and Associates. During this period Holien became the firm's primary designer, with Meem mainly handling public relations work. The post-war years were the firm's most productive period, with a number of buildings designed for the University of New Mexico, Santa Fe Public Schools, Southern Union Gas Company, and many other clients.
, where a campus building is named for him. He died in 1983 at the age of 88.
, and stepped parapet
s 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.
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.
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
based in Santa Fe
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...
, New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
. He is best known for his instrumental role in the development and popularization of the Pueblo Revival style. Meem is regarded as one of the most important and influential architects to have worked in New Mexico.
Early life
Meem was born in 1894 in PelotasPelotas
Pelotas is a Brazilian city and municipality , the third most populous in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul. Pelotas is located 270 km from Porto Alegre, the capital city of the state, and 130 km from the Uruguayan border...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, the eldest child of parents who were missionaries of the Episcopal Church
Episcopal Church (United States)
The Episcopal Church is a mainline Anglican Christian church found mainly in the United States , but also in Honduras, Taiwan, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the British Virgin Islands and parts of Europe...
. In 1910 he traveled to the United States to attend Virginia Military Institute
Virginia Military Institute
The Virginia Military Institute , located in Lexington, Virginia, is the oldest state-supported military college and one of six senior military colleges in the United States. Unlike any other military college in the United States—and in keeping with its founding principles—all VMI students are...
, where he obtained a degree in civil engineering
Civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...
. After graduating, he worked briefly for his uncle's engineering firm in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
before being called up for military service. Having spent the duration of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
at a training camp in Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, Meem was hired by the National City Bank of New York and sent to Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
. Soon after arriving in Brazil, however, he was diagnosed with tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
. Like many other tuberculosis patients of his time, Meem decided to seek the cure in the dry desert climate of New Mexico. He arrived at the Sun Mount Sanatorium in Santa Fe in the spring of 1920.
Architectural career
While at Sunmount, Meem gradually developed an interest in architecture. His initial curiosity was fueled by members of the nascent art community that was studying and preserving the adobe buildings of not only the ancient inhabitants of pueblos but also the Spanish missionaries in New Mexico. In particular he gravitated to the painter Carlos VierraCarlos Vierra
Carlos Vierra was an American painter, illustrator and photographer of Portuguese descent.-Early life:Carlos Vierra was born and raised in Moss Landing, California near Monterey by his father, Portuguese sailor, Cato Vierra and his mother, Maria de Fratas. Vierra went to school in Monterey,...
, who was a fellow patient at Sunmount. Both men found inspiration in the landscape and buildings of the old southwest. Meem also developed an interest in the preservation of historic buildings, a pursuit that would occupy him throughout his career.
In 1922, having recovered sufficiently to spend time away from the sanatorium, he spent fifteen months working for the firm of Fisher & Fisher
Fisher & Fisher
Fisher & Fisher was an architectural firm in Colorado named for partners William Ellsworth Fisher and Arthur Addison Fisher . The firm was founded in 1892 by William Ellsworth Fisher as William Fisher, Architect...
in Denver. In the evenings he attended the Atelier Denver, a studio affiliated with the Beaux-Arts Institute of Design
Beaux-Arts Institute of Design
The Beaux-Arts Institute of Design was an art and architectural school at 304 East 44th Street in Turtle Bay, Manhattan, in New York City...
in New York. This constituted Meem's only formal training in architecture. Informally, Meem studied the Spanish churches and missions and was inspired by their simple forms. He would later write about creating an "old new architecture" that combined modern planning with adobe forms.
Upon Meem's return to Sunmount in 1924, he and fellow patient Cassius McCormick opened their own architecture practice, using one of the sanatorium's spare buildings as a studio. Meem handled the design work, while McCormick managed the business side of the enterprise. Their first commission was the renovation and expansion of a house belonging to Hubert Galt, yet another fellow patient. Another of his earliest commissions was the home of Tex Austin
Tex Austin
John Van "Tex" Austin was an American rodeo promoter, known as the King of the Rodeo or "Daddy of the Rodeo" because of his efforts to popularize the rodeo outside of its core American West demographic....
at the Forked Lightning Ranch. The home is now part of the Pecos National Historic Park. More significant were his houses for Cyrus McCormick, Jr.and Amelia Hollenbeck. Both incorporated traditional adobe construction techniques and domestic typologies, later becoming models for dozens of "Santa Fe style" residences in the area.
McCormick returned to his home state of Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
in 1928, dissolving the partnership. Meem's most significant work during this period was his remodeling of the La Fonda Hotel in Santa Fe, which called upon him to respect the vernacular forms of the original while updating the building for contemporary uses. He proved adept at this balancing of preservation with new design, leading to other work with old buildings in the area. Meem was head of the Historic American Buildings Survey in New Mexico from 1934 until 1955.
Between 1928 and the beginning of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Meem's office remained small, employing only a handful of drafters, though his reputation was growing. In 1930 he entered and won a national competition to select a design for the Laboratory of Anthropology in Santa Fe. Among his competitors was the firm of Fisher & Fisher, where he had been apprenticed just a few years earlier. Then in 1933 he was selected as the official architect of the University of New Mexico
University of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico at Albuquerque is a public research university located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the United States. It is the state's flagship research institution...
in Albuquerque, a position he would hold until his retirement. His best-known work at the University was the iconic Zimmerman Library, completed in 1938. Later that year Meem achieved international recognition for the monumental Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center
Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center
The Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center is an arts center located just north of downtown Colorado Springs, Colorado. Located on the same city block are the American Numismatic Association and part of the campus of Colorado College....
, which is generally regarded as his masterpiece. It was while working on this project that he met his wife Faith, whom he married in 1933.
The war kept Meem's firm occupied with a large number of military and government commissions, and his staff at one point reached 35 employees. Hugo Zehner, who had been with Meem since 1930, was promoted to partner in 1940. Another partner, Edward O. Holien, joined in 1944, making the firm Meem, Zehner, Holien and Associates. During this period Holien became the firm's primary designer, with Meem mainly handling public relations work. The post-war years were the firm's most productive period, with a number of buildings designed for the University of New Mexico, Santa Fe Public Schools, Southern Union Gas Company, and many other clients.
Retirement
Following a gradual transfer of power to Holien, Meem retired in 1956. He remained associated with the successor firm of Holien and Buckley, serving as an architectural consultant. Meem continued to accept scattered commissions through the 1960s, and in later life published occasional articles in architecture journals. He was a benefactor and supporter of Santa Fe Preparatory SchoolSanta Fe Preparatory School
Santa Fe Preparatory School is a fully accredited, coeducational day school serving approximately 340 students in grades seven through twelve. Located in the historical capital city of Santa Fe, New Mexico, SF Prep provides a college preparatory curriculum...
, where a campus building is named for him. He died in 1983 at the age of 88.
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, vigasViga (architecture)
Vigas are wooden beams characteristic of older adobe construction in the southwestern United States of America, and commonly encountered for ornamental rather than functional purposes in Pueblo Revival Style architecture...
, and stepped parapet
Parapet
A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...
s 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.
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.
Works
Meem's office completed a total of 654 commissions, though some of these were not built and others, such as the commission for UNM, included dozens of individual buildings. Following is a list of some of Meem's most important works, which are located in Santa Fe unless otherwise noted.- Fuller Lodge, Los Alamos Ranch School, Los Alamos, NM (1928)
- La Fonda Hotel, remodeling/expanded (1929)
- Taylor Memorial Chapel, La Foret Conference Center, Black Forest Colorado (1929)
- Laboratory of Anthropology (1930)
- Fountain Valley School of Colorado (1931-36)
- Los Poblanos, Los Ranchos de Albuquerque (1932)
- La Quinta, Los Ranchos de Albuquerque (1934)
- Scholes Hall, UNM, Albuquerque (1934)
- Colorado Springs Fine Arts CenterColorado Springs Fine Arts CenterThe Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center is an arts center located just north of downtown Colorado Springs, Colorado. Located on the same city block are the American Numismatic Association and part of the campus of Colorado College....
, Colorado Springs (1936) - Student Union (now Anthropology Building), UNM, Albuquerque (1936)
- Sandia School, Albuquerque (1938)
- Santa Fe County Courthouse (1938)
- Zimmerman Library, UNM, Albuquerque (1938)
- Maisel's Indian Trading PostMaisel's Indian Trading PostMaisel's Indian Trading Post is located in the city of Albuquerque, county of Bernalillo, in the U.S. state of New Mexico. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places listings in Bernalillo County, New Mexico in 1993.-Store:...
, Albuquerque (1939) - Cristo Rey Church (1939)
- Kuaua Museum, Coronado Monument, BernalilloBernalillo, New MexicoBernalillo is a town in Sandoval County, New Mexico, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 6,611. It is the county seat of Sandoval County.Bernalillo is part of the Albuquerque Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
(1939) - Mitchell Hall, UNM, Albuquerque (1950)
- Southern Union Gas Company BuildingSouthern Union Gas Company BuildingThe Southern Union Gas Company Building is a historic building in downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico, which is notable as one of the earliest International style buildings in the city. Built in 1951, it was the largest of several Southern Union offices around the state designed by southwestern...
, Albuquerque (1951)
See also
- Puebloan peoples
- Pueblo Revival Style architecture topics index
- History of New MexicoHistory of New MexicoEvidence from archaeologists conveys the existence of natives back to approximately 9200 BC. However, the history of New Mexico was not officially recorded until the arriving of the Conquistadors, who encountered Native American Pueblos when they explored the area in the 16th century...