AIA New Mexico Chapter
1994 Design Award
Honor Award

The Block / Drucker garden takes its form from the perimeter of a filled-in concrete swimming pool situated on the site. Mature elms, various outbuildings, and retaining walls dominate the site, which lies low in the lush landscape along Tesuque Creek. A tranquil horizontal surface was needed to counterbalance the visual complexity of the existing landscape. A Zen garden was designed to provide the needed tranquility. The simple inorganic material became a foil to the dense surrounding growth. A burnished steel "river" cuts obliquely through the garden, emphasizing the conceptual nature of the garden. The "river" is idealized and symbolically extends to the infinite. To the south of the river is buff-colored sand, and to the north is buff-colored gravel. The sameness of color emphasizes the two different surface textures. The large lichen-covered rocks accentuate the representational quality of the landscape and give the garden its tension and strength. A stand of aspen trees was planted along the south edge of the garden to provide a play of light and shadow across the garden at various times of the day. The garden is overlooked by a long deck that runs the entire length of the south facade of the house. One may step from the house onto the deck and from there view the garden below or descend the various levels to reach the lower deck and the garden itself.