Bart Prince’s home and studio.
**All the photos in this article were shared by Bart Prince**
“You have to see the Maison de l’Espace!
It wasn’t a question. I was sitting with two new friends over a beer, and we were talking about how I’ve been living in Albuquerque since March, but it feels like I just arrived last week.
For a country steeped in history, I appreciated the kindness, openness, and willingness of the people to accept just about anything or anyone, as long as they shared that same attitude of openness and acceptance.
I told them about the things I’d seen and the hikes I’d taken. I told them, “Every time I think there’s nothing left to see, I realize how little I’ve actually done here in New Mexico. There’s still so much for me to see in this state, and Albuquerque never ceases to surprise me!”
My friends listened, nodding and smiling. Michelle looked at me and said enthusiastically, “You have to see the Spaceship House!”
I looked at her and smiled. “What’s that supposed to mean? Albuquerque has a Spaceship House? Really?”
“Oh yes,” she said. “People walking through town stop all the time to look at it, and the man who built it is a famous architect,” she said.
After a quick Google search, I saw that there really was a house that looked like a spaceship… or maybe a submarine inspired by Jules Verne. I couldn’t make up my mind. My curiosity piqued, I made a note in my phone to go check it out.
After having a few beers with my friends, the photo I’d seen online kept popping into my head, and that’s how, on a beautiful Friday morning, I set out to find the house at 3501 Monte Vista Blvd NE. I checked the address on my phone again. I live in Nob Hill, and the Spaceship House is on my side of town, just 800 meters away from me! It’s an easy trip.
That’s when things get interesting in New Mexico. I stood in front of the house, took some photos, and wrote an article about it, but something wasn’t quite right. I needed to meet the mind behind not only this house but also the amazing structures I’d found online during my research.
To my surprise, Bart Prince replied to my email in a friendly manner, and we began an interesting conversation about his life and work. We agreed that we would like the chance to meet in person, but because of COVID, we played it safe and opted to communicate via email.
I’d like to share with you a few highlights from our email conversation, and I hope you’ll enjoy the wonderful photos and Mr. Prince’s responses as much as I did:
According to Architectural Digest, “Among American architects, Bart Prince, based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, is one of the industry’s most inventive minds, capable of transforming ordinary materials straight from the lumberyard into wild fantasies.”
I asked Prince what he thought of this quote, and he replied:
“I always visit the site with my client at the beginning of the design process to find out what they particularly like about the site—and perhaps what they don’t like. I want to know everything about the site—the terrain, the soil, existing features (trees, rocks, etc.)—including adjacent structures, streets, utilities, and so on.”
“I will then return to the site at different times of the day to observe changes in light—both natural and artificial, if applicable. Once again, I want to respond to the site rather than impose something on it. At this stage of the design process, I haven’t yet begun to narrow my focus to a specific design, but I’m thinking about where on the site the various functions might best be located. I think many people—whether architects or clients—often start to form preconceived notions about form and materials long before they’ve even considered the IDEA of the building from the inside.”
Why Her House Looks the Way It Does
I asked Prince what he thought about his house becoming a “must-see” on travel websites in Albuquerque, what he thought of people calling it a spaceship or a submarine, and why he chose the design he did.
“Every site and every client deserves a unique design tailored to the specifics of their individual situation. I design from the inside out, which means I never start with a preconceived idea, shape, or model. I don’t know what will emerge in this process until I’ve discovered how things work on the inside. People often ‘see’ (in their minds) things that remind them of something else rather than what is actually there. They connect what they see to their own experiences, hence the associations with animals, airplanes, boats, etc., etc. I think that’s human nature. This often happened to Frank Lloyd Wright with his buildings. When a house doesn’t look like what people think a house should look like, they immediately start “seeing” a snail, a seashell, a turtle, etc., and are “certain” that’s what I intended to create.
Energy Circle
I asked Prince if he’d ever had any strange encounters with tourists because of the unique nature of his house. He wrote: “There are people who stop and look every day. Most of them are very nice and curious to know what caught their attention. One day, when I came home, I found a group of people sitting in a circle in my driveway, holding hands and humming. When I asked if I could help them, they replied, ‘No, everything’s fine. We’re gathering energy here!” I have dozens of stories like that.”
The Architecture Bart Prince Appreciates
When the topic of the buildings Prince admires came up, he was straightforward:
“I am particularly drawn to buildings constructed by Indigenous peoples. They are ALWAYS adapted to individual sites in both their macro and micro aspects, resulting in a design that ‘belongs’ to the site, both inside and out. I can’t think of a building I wish I had designed, but I appreciate good design when I see it. One of my favorite buildings is the old chemistry building, built in 1916 and designed by Barry Byrne, who worked for Louis Sullivan in Chicago, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Walter Burley Griffin. Few people know about this small building, but it’s tucked away and largely in its original condition. Another building I admire in New Mexico was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and is located in Pecos. Again, few people know it exists, which is a good thing for the owners, who are relatives of the original client.
Larry Tchogninou (student) and Prince.
Real New Mexico
Mr. Prince and I talked at some length about his hopes for New Mexico, as well as the challenges he faces. He loves his city and his state and wants them to be the best they can be.
As our conversation progressed, the question of why New Mexico came up. Like me, others asked him why he wasn’t an architect in Los Angeles, New York, or some other big city. Why stay in New Mexico?
After college, Prince worked with Bruce Goff in Kansas City and Tyler, Texas. He made a name for himself in California, but “never considered settling there” and worked in other places along the way.
He said he didn’t want to live in a city like New York or Los Angeles because he wanted to continue doing creative work and “didn’t want to try to fit into an oversized, unfamiliar environment.”
Finally, he told me that one of his friends had a quote about New Mexico:
“New Mexico is much more open to creativity. The friend who said this to Prince was none other than the legendary artist Georgia O’Keeffe.”
That’s what I love about New Mexico: no matter how inspiring, strange, beautiful, or unique something is, New Mexico seems to embrace it. For a state steeped in history, I appreciated the kindness, openness, and willingness of the people to accept just about anything or anyone—as long as they share that same attitude of openness and acceptance.
