Open Space Visitor Center (City of Albuquerque)

By Edith Cherry and James See – August 15, 2019

6500 Coors Blvd. NW, Albuquerque, NM 87120

Access:  505 897-8831  |  Open Space Visitor Center

Albuquerque’s Open Space Visitor Center introduces visitors to the Rio Grande Bosque, nature-related art, a native plant demonstration garden, agricultural fields, the Piedras Marcadas Pueblo archaeological site, and stunning views. The centerpiece of the terraced 55-acre site is the former home of Coda Roberson, who was a local contractor and survivor of the Bataan Death March of WWII.

Now remodeled as a gallery and education space, the light-filled structure is complemented with a cluster of smaller period buildings and an inviting entry court with a landscape design inspired by the Rio Grande Valley and the volcanoes to the west.

Interior spaces feature well-placed windows that look out onto the fields, the Bosque, and the Sandia Mountains. A viewing tower was added to the grounds, providing visitors a tree-top perspective on that surprising expanse to the east. Seasonally, one can see majestic sandhill cranes on a fly-in or foraging.

The colors of the fields and Bosque are recalled in the material colors of the architecture. The massing of the building components and focus on exterior spaces offer a good example of contemporary architecture that recalls Southwestern architectural traditions.

Completed:  2006
Architect:  Lee Gamelsky Architects, PC
Landscape Designer:  Susan Frye
Contractor:  Longhorn Construction
Awards:  Southwest Contractor Best Public Projects Under $10 Million (2007)

Public Art:
Flyway (2011; artist: Robert Wilson)

Learn More:
Piedras Marcadas Pueblo (LA 290)

8/15/19