Woodbury architecture students from the San Diego campus have joined students from聽the School of Architecture and Design at University of New Mexico as part of an ongoing project to create a revitalization plan for the , New Mexico that focuses on the west end of town.
20 students recently met with staff from the schools and city officials, including Mayor Benny Jasso, Councilor Victor Cruz and Aaron Sera, city administrator, to discuss planning the first phase of the conceptual design for incubator and revitalization project. Sera explained how the area under review includes the city鈥檚 western access to Interstate 10, which sees upwards of 60,000 vehicles pass a day in both directions.聽The concept calls for an anchor business that can teach and model business techniques to foster the development of other businesses in the area. 鈥淭his collaboration is bringing top notch design and planning to the city,鈥� Sera said. 鈥淭he project is helping grow our relationship with the schools and save taxpayer money on professional services.鈥�
Students from both universities have collaborated for three years in Southern New Mexico as a team known as Plata Studio, Stan Bertheaud, Architecture professor at Woodbury, said. The team presented potential designs created by the students and discussed issues facing the community with city officials. 鈥淒eming’s history as a railroad town and its current position as a crossroads city make it an ideal canvas for specific academic and architectural incubator projects,鈥� Bertheaud said. 鈥淭he enthusiasm and knowledge of Deming’s city leaders and the experience and design savvy of Plata Studio make us ideal working partners.鈥�
The meeting included an in-depth look at the city overall using maps, with an emphasis on connectivity, infrastructure, parks and how green spaces might be improved.
聽For more information about the student project, visit聽.