As the largest city in New Mexico, Albuquerque is one of the fastest-growing high-tech centers in the U.S. Yet you rarely see skyscrapers here. Instead you will find small, dirt-walled houses everywhere.
With flat roofs — often with projecting beams — stepped levels and round-edged walls, they are called adobe houses, and they are one of Albuquerque's defining characteristics.
Quentin Wilson, director of the Adobe Construction Program at Northern New Mexico College, said that "in the desert parts of the world, adobe is the wonderful material that everyone wants to choose. Because of the big thick walls, they work very well with the desert climate. It will store coolness, or they will store heat."
Adobe means a building material mix of earth and straw. American Indians started building houses with adobe in the 1400s. Spanish elements were added when the Spanish conquered the region in the 1600s. Northern Europeans took over later. Yet, Wilson said, all three groups of people saw the beauty of adobe.
"Everybody embraced it and saw it as a valuable material, and they didn't come in and tear it down and try some other kind of construction," he said.
The big massive walls are important in New Mexico's desert climate. During the summer, people open the doors at night to let the walls store coolness and close the doors during daytime. That keeps the indoor temperature cool, as if the rooms were air-conditioned.
Kris Linton bought three of the houses and turned them into adobe-style, short-term rental houses. Her goal is to let people see what a house was like in the city's early days.
"The feeling of it coming together and giving it a whole new life is exciting," she said. "We have not repurposed them. We have kept what they were here for, [which] is to live in."
And adobe houses are still being built. Alan and Joyce Weitzel live in a contemporary version.
"I do like the quiet of the adobe structure," Alan said. "It is solid. It's very quiet — kind of leaves a very soothing, calm feeling in the house."
One down side is that the thick adobe walls can weaken cellphone signals. But this is a compromise the Weitzels are willing to make. They also need to keep an eye on the adobe walls, applying mud finish every other year to keep them dry and in shape.
In spite of such shortcomings, with committed fans like Linton and the Weitzels, adobe architecture will be preserved and remain a symbol of New Mexico.
Vocabulary
adobe:泥砖
repurposed:改换意图
乔治小王子又要当花童!这次是他小叔的婚礼
中国平安成为汇丰第二大股东
蒂勒森国务卿出访欧洲重申对北约坚定承诺
来头太大!梅根竟是莎士比亚和丘吉尔的远亲!
AI becomes more alien 人工智能自我挑战 再创新高
吃鱼能够提高记忆,让心情变好
想要匀称的好身材,看看维密天使是如何锻炼的!
国际英语资讯:U.S. Supreme Court allows Trumps third travel ban to go into effect
国内英语资讯:Interview: B&R Initiative a win-win boost for China-Australia cooperation -- fmr Australian
体坛英语资讯:Bayern win, Leipzig lose in German Bundesliga
国际英语资讯:IS in Libya prepares to regroup one year after losing stronghold
国际英语资讯:Russian fleet visits Myanmar
豆瓣评分9.3:《国家宝藏》一夜刷屏,乾隆都被“玩坏了”
体坛英语资讯:Star swimmers attend charity walking in S. China
2017年12月英语四级作文万能模板:陈述事物优点
2017年日本流行语大奖公布 安倍丑闻等话题入选
国际英语资讯:FBI director defends agency amid Trumps criticism
2017年12月英语四级作文范文:学习汉语
形容词加副词应该如何翻译?
国际英语资讯:News analysis: Salehs death opens door for broader Saudi-Iran conflict in Yemen: analysts
为什么吃早饭有助于促进新陈代谢
不要再买这些食物了
2017年12月英语六级作文范文:保护知识产权
据说,有这13个特征的人都是聪明人!
体坛英语资讯:Lyon move up to second, Marseille earn a hard-fought draw in Ligue 1
One step closer to cyborgs 我们离半机械人时代又近了一步
Monitoring a deadly volcano 科学家监控极其危险的尼拉贡戈火山
BBC推荐:12月必看的8部电影
国际英语资讯:Germanys SPD party leadership gives green-light to coalition negotiations with CDU/CSU
如何快速消除喉咙痛