Ph. (505) 660-6301 Free Guide: Building in the Historic Districts of Santa Fe
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Helping you go beyond what you can imagine

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“Gayla brought to the table creative input that consistently made my own ideas better. Her interface with the city, creation of plans, and thorough knowledge of the code laws allowed a glitch free approval process. She has a deep understanding of traditional NM style but is capable of seamlessly adding more contemporary elements if desired, without losing what attracts us all to SF. If you are building in the historic district, her knowledge and expertise will be invaluable when getting through that extra review, and staying true to design elements that ensure that you have an outcome that is both personally satisfying and true to the community’s history. I recommend her without reservation.”

-Brian Hill

VietVet CEO

“Gayla brought to the table creative input that consistently made my own ideas better. Her interface with the city, creation of plans, and thorough knowledge of the code laws allowed a glitch free approval process. She has a deep understanding of traditional NM style but is capable of seamlessly adding more contemporary elements if desired, without losing what attracts us all to SF. If you are building in the historic district, her knowledge and expertise will be invaluable when getting through that extra review, and staying true to design elements that ensure that you have an outcome that is both personally satisfying and true to the community’s history. I recommend her without reservation.”

-Brian Hill

VietVet CEO

Free Guide!

Building in the Historic Districts of Santa Fe

This valuable guide divides up the process of building in the historic districts in stages so that you will have a better understanding of getting approvals, the acceptable styles and also an idea of how to proceed with your project.

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The right information at the right time is everything.

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Needs and Options Review

I offer a low-cost needs and options review to help you know beforehand what you need to know and when you need to know it. The valuable insights you gain from this first phase can be used by us or any other architect and will ultimately produce a better result for you.
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Contemporary

We approach every project with passion and objectivity, playing to our strengths of simplicity and crafting beautiful spaces out of natural materials and light. Whether it is an adaptive reuse of an old building, transforming a typical southwestern structure into an expression of modernistic aesthetic, or creating a dream house on the edge of the high mountain desert we listen and use our 20+ years of experience of building in Santa Fe to help clients achieve their goals. We are happy designing anything and also enjoy working on private homes in every context.

Historic

Whether it is Adaptive Reuse, Restoration, or Renovation of historic structures, landscapes and neighborhoods we bring an objective concentrated effort to each project. We are dedicated to help you gain energy efficiency and keep the historic status of your project while making it functional for you. As a certified historic architect in New Mexico we answer these questions and more. We help you design your project so that it works for you and satisfies the Historic Preservation Laws and demands including designing in the vernacular styles of the Old Santa Fe Style, Territorial Revival Style, Spanish Pueblo Revival Style and sometimes just called simply Adobe Style.

Urban Design

In our practice context is critical. We believe creative community projects and engagement can and will address the most pressing social issues of our time. The buildings make the city and the city makes the buildings. All of our work is contextual, of its time and place and is versatile and practical. We enjoy engaging at the small and large scale in order to satisfy the owner of the project and that will complement the context and identify the solutions and the opportunities inherent in a particular community.

She is my favorite architect in town. She is practical and elegant.

Santa Fe, New Mexico

We love our spaces you designed for us. With one meeting you knew exactly what we wanted.

Cincinnati, Ohio

Thank you for listening. Boy, did we accomplish a lot! Impressive!! I can’t wait to move in.

Los Angeles, CA

About Gayla Bechtol Architect

Gayla Bechtol started her eponymous architecture firm located in Santa Fe, New Mexico to help her clients go beyond what they can imagine from traditional to contemporary. She gained her formal education at University of Texas, Southern California and Harvard University Graduate School of Design and continues to pursue knowledge and creativity every day in the context of the beauty of the built and natural world. We created our site to help you get the right information at the right time. Enjoy! We look forward to hearing from you.

Historic Cultural Properties Inventory

One of the challenges of buying and building in the Historic Districts of Santa Fe is knowing if your building is considered protected by the Preservation laws of the City and State. As a Certified Historic Architect in New Mexico I am qualified to perform a Historic Cultural Properties Inventory and make a recommendation to the Governing Body. If your survey is older than 1991 I recommend conducting a status review. If you need an HCPI please contact me here.

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