New Mexico travertine was not only chosen for the new Center for the Arts at New Mexico State University for its quality, but also for the quarry’s close proximity to the project site, which achieved LEED credit for regional materials
With a unique curved stone exterior, the Center for the Arts at New Mexico State University (NMSU) in Las Cruces, NM, was designed to achieve LEED credit and to create cohesion among the school’s art facilities. The architects at Holzman Moss Bottino Architecture in New York, NY, selected New Mexico travertine — quarried regionally by New Mexico Travertine of Belen, NM — as the primary building material for the exterior facade.
“The Center for the Arts is the first phase of a multi-phase master plan intended to unify the school’s arts facilities, encourage collaboration between disciplines and highlight the arts programs at NMSU,” explained Partner-in-Charge Malcolm Holzman, FAIA of Holzman Moss Bottino Architecture. “The goal of the Center for the Arts was to begin achieving the goals of the master plan, and more specifically, to create a facility of excellence for the school’s performing arts program. Aesthetically, we strove to create a building that is rooted in its community, and the selection of local stone for the facade allowed us to do that.