Rooted in place: Architects share design for new Humanities & Social Sciences Complex

When the design team for The University of New Mexico's new Humanities & Social Sciences Complex (HSSC) wanted to understand Pueblo Revival style, they didn't just study examples like UNM's Zimmerman Library. They got in a car to see "what Pueblo Revival might mean and where it came from."

Architects from Studio Tsien of New York City and SMPC Architects of Albuquerque spent a long weekend visiting Bandelier National Monument and Acoma Pueblo, where they studied the solid walls and carved openings that inspired the campus architecture UNM has honored for more than a century.

Jennifer Malat, dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, praised this attention to space during a HSSC design team presentation on building plans to college faculty and staff on Feb. 4. Malat credited the architects for "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 building has been carefully designed to not only house academic units, but also to help students find their path and pursue it. For example, a linguistics student will be able to utilize the ground-floor Language Learning Center and its dedicated Navajo and Signed Language classrooms, along with the modern language labs. American Studies or philosophy students will find faculty office spaces designed for conversation and informal gatherings. Every UNM student will be able to access HSSC's community "living room" as a place to think, work, collaborate, or simply spend time between classes.

HSSC classrooms also reflect an understanding of who students are and how they learn. Flexible furniture and display surfaces support active learning, and quieter spaces with sound-absorbing wall material and soft seating are designed to accommodate all students.

The facility features natural light and green spaces the original Humanities Building could not. The new complex will retain existing trees near Woodward Hall while adding new green space between HSSC and the Student Union Building (SUB) and includes interior green spaces with a third-floor terrace and landscaped interior courtyard.

The $138 million HSSC project is supported by $94 million in state funding, including $52 million from General Obligation Bond 3, which was approved on Nov. 5, 2024. The complex will house eight academic units and four units and includes a digital humanities media lab, a humanities center, and a community kitchen where student groups can gather and prepare food. The building will be open to the public and will feature a distinctive tower featuring views of the Sandia Mountains to the east and the volcanoes and Mount Taylor to the west from the top floor.

The College of Arts & Sciences has set a fundraising goal of $10 million, with construction beginning this August. The college invites anyone who has benefited from a humanities education and wants to pass that tradition on to donate and help educate future generations of Lobos.

"Our goal," said architect Billie Tsien, "is to make a place that feels wonderful, but feels like it's always been there."

To learn more or give to the HSSC project, visit Building the Future: HSSC or Humanities & Social Sciences Complex construction.