Sol y Sombra
Santa Fe, NM
Project context
Sol y Sombra, which is currently owned by Paul Allen, is the 20-acre former historic estate of Georgia O’Keefe. The previous owners of the property had a vision to share the historic property with the public. It was used as a residence, foundation headquarters and meeting center that included housing and dining facilities for guests, studios, offices, an organic farm with a passive solar greenhouse, a wildlife habitat and a small culturally diverse living community.(Mazria Inc.)
As part of the site development the grounds at Sol y Sombra were transformed into a dry, mountain region botanic garden incorporating water harvesting techniques and constructed wetlands for wastewater treatment. A greenhouse was designed to produce food for the Sol y Sombra Foundation and landscape material for the 30-acre complex. Ed Mazria, the driving force behind Architecture 2030, designed the structure with triple glazing, and thermostatically controlled vents located on opposite walls. The interior contained three climate zones for growing a wide variety of plants; sunny/tropical, temperate and temperate/partially shaded. (Mazria Inc.)
NSI Contributions
NSI, invited into the project by Mr.Mazria, contributed to the project vision by designing an onsite wastewater treatment system. A constructed wetland was sized and built to treat all of the wastewater generated by the occupants and visitors of the facility. Effluent was treated to recreational water quality and overflowed into a pond onsite.
The constructed wetland was beautifully integrated into the estate gardens which were used to grow flowers and vegetables for the kitchen. The treatment cells were planted with traditional cattail and bulrush as well as ornamental perennials.
