For the architect of the new Vladem museum, a hard process is still worth it - Santa Fe New Mexican

I like the design of the Vladem Contemporary.

Don’t hurt me.

It looks sleek. But it’s not slick. When completed, the state’s newest museum will be a huge move forward in a part of town that already embraces the growth potential of contemporary art (not that I know the first thing about contemporary art). And its envelope — too big for some, too ornate for others — eventually will find a home in people’s hearts, because buildings always do.

Want proof? Fifty-three years ago, the state of New Mexico put a roof over a cavernous hole in the ground south of the University of New Mexico. Today, it’s known as The Pit. It’s the best known, and perhaps most beloved, structure in the state.

Closer to home, just check out the romance some say they feel for the Halpin Building — the structure on which the new Vladem will be housed. Save for a decaying 1980s-era mural on one wall, it was little more than an old warehouse. If you can go to bat for a warehouse, anything is possible.

So, eventually, most will embrace the look of the Vladem. And remember this: Regardless of the complaints about how this design process was structured, the final result will be a two-story building that houses and celebrates art in downtown Santa Fe. They’re not building a guided missile frigate on the corner of Guadalupe Street and Montezuma Avenue.

But mostly, I think I like the Vladem because the thoughtful architect in charge of the project understood that in a community where history, culture, art and controversy live on the same street, the trip from charrette to reality has many stops. And starts. And stops.

By my count, Devendra Contractor uttered three “wonderfuls” and two “gratefuls” in a 30-minute interview about the Vladem Contemporary. He wasn’t being prompted by a publicist, or even trying to make points with the people who will read this column. The words, in context, were about how he sees architecture affecting people — and perhaps just as important, how others’ visions affect an architect’s design.

Because that’s what happened with the Vladem: People, some of them critics, spoke often through the past several months about Contractor’s designs for the contemporary art museum. By necessity, but also by nature, his team took in those many voices and made adjustments. “Our objective,” he said, “was to make a better building.”

He didn’t seemed bruised or angered by the arduous, often divisive maze that’s required when creating something new (or anything) in Santa Fe.

“We expected this building to be controversial,” he said. “We’re not doing our jobs if it’s not.”

Controversial, however, is not another word for reckless. Judging from the most recent renderings, the Vladem Contemporary will be yet another great outlet for art in Santa Fe; another chance for New Mexico to rightfully claim its place as one of the nation’s visual and cultural treasures. I love the traditional art that sprouts from nearly every corner of this city. But another site in the Railyard where contemporary offerings can flourish is nothing but good — for Santa Fe, for the state as a whole.

And in the end, the best museums are about what’s inside the building, anyway.

It’s instructive to note the original designs weren’t the ones that were approved. Revisions were made to the final offering, both inside and outside, to address concerns from the state Historic Preservation Office and others. Those modifications went into the design that was recommended by the city’s Historic Districts Review Board on Thursday night. Some H-board members who had been critical of early renditions seemed mollified.

“Architectural education is based on critique,” said Contractor, a graduate of St. John’s College who got his start in the field by laying adobe blocks in Santa Fe. “It’s an important part of what you do when you do this. And criticism is hard. In good criticism, one develops an instinct for good conversation. When that’s what criticism is based on, it’s quite wonderful. It’s like having a conversation between friends: Ideas evolve. It’s a wonderful opportunity for new perspectives.”

If there was something hurtful in the process, Contractor wouldn’t say. Besides, he knows this comes with the territory. He grew up in India but has family in New Mexico going back generations. His grandfather, Edmund Kinzinger, founded an art institute in Taos, and when Contractor speaks, there’s an almost ethereal quality to his words. He’s an architect, yes. But there’s an artist in there, too.

“Good architecture,” he said, “can move us to tears.”

And maybe, satisfaction as well. In 2021, when the Vladem Contemporary is ready for visitors, Contractor might not be the only one who says the words wonderful and grateful.

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For the architect of the new Vladem museum, a hard process is still worth it - Santa Fe New Mexican
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