Arbolera de Vida Sawmill Redevelopment

Located in the Old Town district of Albuquerque, New Mexico, the Arbolera de Vida Sawmill neighborhood (currently under construction) is an innovative new residential development designed to provide long-term affordable housing and economic opportunities in this established area.

Community members and neighborhood residents were involved throughout the process of planning and designing this new neighborhood which won the President's Award for Planning from the American Society of Landscape Architects in 1997.

Site Plan

As part of the planning and design team led by Design Workshops, we developed ecological design guidelines for the project and participated in the vision planning and goal setting workshops as well as in the design of the neighborhood master plan. Guided by our three critical strategies of ecological design - conservation, regeneration, and stewardship - the master plan includes climate responsive building design, orchards, community gardens and a community center that draws its strength from stewardship of both the human and natural capital of the community.

Street Elevation

Once a polluted industrial site, the area will soon be a vibrant mixed use neighborhood with a diversity of housing types and many commercial and community amenities. The neighborhood is being developed as a community land trust, ensuring that the value added to this area will benefit the long time residents of the community into the future.