Santa Fe, NM

The Santa Fe Opera is renowned for its summer opera festival. H3 is implementing a master plan for “the Ranch,” the Opera’s ten-acre rehearsal and administrative campus.

Home to a core staff of 75, which grows to 600 during the summer months, the Ranch is an active place throughout the festival season. Sounds of private vocal coaching and opera rehearsals can be heard wafting from various buildings. The acoustic mingling that results adds to the campus environment and reinforces its informal character. H3’s plan proposes a long-range strategy for facilities that meet the Ranch’s growing needs and maintain its intimate character. The plan’s purpose is to improve facilities for the company, staff, and artists and to upgrade the dining facilities so that receptions can be held. These needs will be met in five phases, implemented in order of priority. Each includes the addition of a major new building and commensurate landscape improvements.

The plan takes maximum advantage of existing elements and strengthens linkages among the Ranch’s various areas. The measurable progress in each phase will demonstrate tangible improvement, which in turn will assist in fund-raising. The completed Ranch will be a source of pride for generations to come.

CLIENT: Santa Fe Opera
COMPLETION: Vocal Studio (2007), Cantina (2006), Two Rehearsal Halls (2011), Two Vocal Studios and Three Coaching Studios (2013)
SIZE: 10-Acre Campus