La Luz del Oeste

La Luz del Oeste
La Luz del Oeste is located in New Mexico
La Luz del Oeste
La Luz del Oeste is located in the United States
La Luz del Oeste
LocationLoop One NW,
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Coordinates35°8′28″N 106°41′47″W / 35.14111°N 106.69639°W / 35.14111; -106.69639
Built1967–74
ArchitectAntoine Predock
NRHP reference No.100009493
NMSRCP No.539
Significant dates
Added to NRHPOctober 27, 2023
Designated NMSRCPDecember 9, 1977[1]

La Luz del Oeste is a planned community on the West Side of Albuquerque, New Mexico, which is notable for its architecture and urban planning as an example of the New towns movement of the mid-20th century. The development consists of 96 townhouses along with shared community spaces and 40 acres (16 ha) of land which was left undeveloped as a viewshed toward the Rio Grande bosque and Sandia Mountains. It was designed by architect Antoine Predock in his first major commission and built between 1967 and 1974.[2][3] The property was added to the New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties in 1977[1] and the National Register of Historic Places in 2023.[4]

The residential units of La Luz are arranged in terraced rows facing east toward the river. Vehicle and pedestrian routes are kept separate with a series of loop roads providing access to garages and parking areas at the rear of the units, while pedestrian access is from the front via landscaped paths and courtyards. The architecture of the development combined modernism with influences from the environmental movement and traditional Pueblo architecture in its organization of public and private spaces, use of efficient materials such as adobe, and conservation of the surrounding landscape.[2]

  1. ^ a b "State and National Register Spreadsheet" (Excel). New Mexico Department of Historic Preservation. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  2. ^ a b Mead, Christopher C. "La Luz". SAH Archipedia. Society of Architectural Historians. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  3. ^ Arar, Muhammad Alaa Eddin. "La Luz". Albuquerque Modernism. University of New Mexico School of Architecture & Planning. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  4. ^ "National Register of Historic Places Weekly List 2023 11 03". National Park Service. Retrieved November 12, 2023.