Desert Interpretive Center Raton, New Mexico

This private retreat on 30,000 acres of land is the site of a compelling masterplan and conceptual design project by Coen + Partners and Elliott + Associates in an arid region of Southwestern United States. The Desert Interpretive Center lies in the rolling foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains spanning an elevation change from 6500 to 8100 feet above sea level. The program calls for a comprehensive visitor center and an interpretive landscape with several monuments. Coen + Partners’ plan embraces the arid climate, utilizing native vegetation and resilient, beautiful materials to detail the interpretive spaces.

The monuments mark important points in the landscape, transitioning from arid desert to dry-alpine foothills. Each monument is composed of stone, steel, glass or native grasses which are integrated into the landscape to interpret the ecological conditions and topographical shifts and reflect the local materials of the landscape.

The experience leads visitors through the topographically challenging site from the visitor center out into the landscape and up, exposing the public to the expansive views, ecosystem changes and remnants of the historic Santa Fe Trail.

• Collaboration: Elliott + Associates Architects