Opening Ceremony for Predock Center for Design + Research

On a sunny afternoon, Oct. 19, The University of New Mexico's School of Architecture and Planning (SA+P) marked a significant milestone with a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the newly renovated Predock Center for Design + Research (PCD+R). This ceremony was eight years in the making.

This new innovative center will serve as a hub for collaboration and creativity and will enable students to learn from the world-renowned architect Antoine Predock, known for designs that incorporated regional inspirations to enhance and ground his projects and building processes, and for being an avid motorcyclist.

Predock and his wife, College of Fine Arts professor emeritus Constance DeJong, left their home at 300 12th Street N.W. to the SA+P to help enrich the next generation of architects and build on his life's work.

All attendees were welcomed by Dean of SA+P, Robert Alexander González, and distinguished guests, Mayor Tim Keller, UNM's Interim Provost Barbara Rodriguez, and Constance DeJong. The center's inaugural director, Alex Webb, and Development Director, Keith Greer, also expressed gratitude for the philanthropic effort it has taken to reach this point, including a $1M renovation. Each speaker shared personal stories about their interactions with Predock, highlighting his contributions to the field and to New Mexico.

"In our everyday life in Pearl Hall, Antoine continues to inspire us all," said González. "He is our state's success story. What he made possible in New Mexico remains unmatched. Throughout his career, he established a kind of regional architecture truly rooted in a place he deeply studied and called home, but he was able to transfer this shamanistic read of land to any place he was called upon to build on."

Keller reflected on Predock's role in helping to preserve the Rail Yards and the Rail Trail, sharing how "Antoine often described himself as a tumbleweed, saying he blew in like one and never left."

The PCD+R features three design studios and space for up to 40 students to study and be inspired by Predock's designs and strategies, as well as the rich collection of study and final models displayed throughout its spaces. This is helping the school deal with its continued growing enrollment. Currently, 10 students are working and collaborating within the space and its courtyards.

"The gift of this center is drawing daily from Predock's work and the space he knew so well to keep on experimenting with architecture," said Webb, who is teaching the first advanced architecture studio at the center.

PCD+R is also the future home of two of SA+P's community-facing institutes, the Design Planning Assistance Center (DPAC) and the Resource Center for Raza Planning (RCRP), which will be housed on site at the Predock Home.

Predock was the principal architect at the studio he founded in 1967, Antoine Predock Architect PC, which was an internationally recognized firm. Students today just need to look around campus to see his signature, from his earlier designs with the School of Law to SA+P's very own George Pearl Hall.

Predock's architectural impact is also evident throughout New Mexico, from the Albuquerque Museum to the Rio Grande Nature Center. He also designed Petco Park in San Diego, Austin City Hall in Austin, Texas, the National Palace Museum Southern Branch in Southern Taiwan, and the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

"Antoine has made a remarkable impact on our campus, throughout New Mexico and around the world," said Rodriguez. "This new center not only honors his contributions to design, research and teaching, but also continues his transformative legacy in the field of architecture."