When the design team for UNM’s new Humanities & Social Sciences Complex (HSSC) sought to understand Pueblo Revival style, they didn’t simply study examples like UNM’s Zimmerman Library. They traveled to Bandelier National Monument and Acoma Pueblo to explore the architectural forms that have influenced UNM’s campus for more than a century.

Architects from Studio Tsien of New York City and SMPC Architects of Albuquerque spent a long weekend studying the solid walls, carved openings and materials characteristic of Pueblo tradition.

Jennifer Malat, dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, praised this deep engagement during a presentation to college faculty and staff. She noted “how carefully they have listened to what we have told them, how much they are invested and care about our traditions in New Mexico and what it means to build here, and what deep appreciation they have for the humanities.”

The old Humanities building was completed in 1974.

The building is designed not only to house academic units but also to help students find their path and pursue it. Linguistics students, for example, will benefit from the ground-floor Language Learning Center, dedicated Navajo and Signed Language classrooms, and modern language labs. American Studies and philosophy students will find faculty office spaces designed for conversation and informal gathering. And every UNM student will be able to use HSSC’s community “living room” as a place to think, work, collaborate or simply spend time between classes.