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DNCA is committed to design excellence and the quality of the built environment. We are a small interdisciplinary architectural practice within which rigorous problem-solving is synonymous with innovative clarity and practical expediency. DNCA has a track record of completing high quality, award-winning work for satisfied clients.

At DNCA, we design modern, light-filled spaces, and our process is inspired by the authenticity of an honest palette of materials that is responsive to a client’s needs and budget and the context of site and climate. We strive to achieve good architecture through direct simplicity and an expression of the language of the materials of construction. Although we would define our own work as contemporary and modern, we have evolved as architects, designers, and builders within the traditions of vernacular architecture and craft.

Architecture provides the occasion and the context within which human lives unfold; it has the capability to choreograph the ritual of human life and to inform the language of the spirit and the mind. We believe that aesthetics evolves from functionality and the successful integration of building systems and economic constraints. We believe that good architecture has the profound ability to inspire the imagination, language, and lives of its inhabitants. We strive to ground our practice in simple human values, in the unique programmatic needs and constraints associated with each specific project, and in a deep appreciation for the methods of construction.

In developing a solution we distill ideas and formal relationships into the simplest, most functional and cost-effective programmatic diagram. We listen, and we resolve complex functional program requirements with professional rigor and imaginative clarity. This is the approach that establishes the groundwork upon which we develop our award-winning designs. We provide engaged and individualized service to our clients, and ensure involvement by a knowledgeable, consistent, and accessible project team.

Devendra Contractor AIA

Principal

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Deirdre Harris RA LEED AP BD+C

Associate

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Kristen Shaw

Associate

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Pedro Vaquera

Project Manager

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Awards

Levitated Toy Factory
2015 AIA Albuquerque – Honor Award – Student Jury
2015 Jeff Harnar Award for Contemporary Architecture – Citation
2014 AIA Albuquerque – Honor Award

Renal Medicine Associates
2015 AIA Albuquerque – Honor Award – Student Jury
2013 AIA Albuquerque – Citation Award

LewAllen Galleries at the Truro Building
2012 AIA Albuquerque – Citation Award

Tamarind Institute at UNM
2010 AIA Albuquerque – Citation Award

Railyard Galleries (Sears-Hansen & Rose-Morelli Buildings)
2010 AIA Albuquerque – Citation of Merit Award
2008 State of New Mexico Heritage Preservation Award
Urban Design within an Historic Context

Ocotillo Performing Arts Center
2009 McGraw Hill Construction’s Southwest Contractor
Award for ‘Best Cultural Project’

Rose-Morelli Building Gallery Interiors
Wiliam Siegal Gallery & Gebert Contemporary
2007 AIA New Mexico – Citation of Merit Award

Press

“Second Street finds room to grow with huge new location”, Dark Side Brew Crew; July 25, 2016

“Architectural Feature: Levitated Toy Factory”, New Mexico Architectural Foundation; March 20,2015

“50 Years of Tamarind”, in art ltd; September, 2010

“Celebration of Color”, in Albuquerque Journal; September 5, 2010

“Art of Space: More Than Meets the Eye”, in Pasatiempo; September 10-16, 2010

“Newest gallery building taking shape in Railyard”, in Santa Fe New Mexican; January, 2009

“Railyard Remodel is a Winner”, in Santa Fe New Mexican; April 28, 2008

“New Tamarind Home Awash in Green Ideas”, in Local IQ; April 17-30, 2008

“Lots of New Galleries in the Railyard”, in Santa Fe Real Estate Guide; January, 2008

“Art of Space: Railyard on Track”, in Pasatiempo; December 14-20, 2007