Built for Life: Southwest TV Show

Genre:     Documentary / How-To Series Logline:  A docu-series for public television; National Geographic Explorer meets This Old House.

We will take viewers on an adventure through the Southwest to explore 1,000 years of building history within the gorgeous backdrop of our desert landscape, with an eye towards identifying means of attainable sustainability.  We'll cover Pre-Puebloan, Navajo, Puebloan, Hispanic, European, and American styles... and even modern ideas like earthships, Passiv Hauses, and hippie communes. We'll share ways we can make our architecture and landscapes work better for us now and in the future, learning from the past and working without technology.

Most programs on sustainability focus on modern glam architects and technology-dependent design, but for a millenia, humans in the Southwest used NATURAL forces and rhythms to their advantage, minimizing consumption, and staying relatively comfortable along the way. They knew how to make nature work for them, and in many cases, their solutions have proven they can outlast modern alternatives. With more than 20% of the people in New Mexico living in poverty and wondering where their next meal may come from, we want to offer viewers engaging, inspiring ways of re-connecting with this knowledge, and empower people to stay warm in winter, cool in summer, have access to safe and abundant water, and the ability to grow their own food. And we want to encourage a new generation of tourists who are concerned about sustainability to discover new reasons to visit, and connect people with several of our favorite locations and organizations that can make their experience great!

We'll turn viewers into fans by educating, and then empowering them, and by creating a space to develop a community after the show, where they can explore education components in Architectural History; Archaeology; Sustainable Design; and Southwest Cultures, and then celebrate their own successful projects by sharing with our network!

This program is imagined as a weekly show, with occasional Saturday or Sunday marathons. The show is designed to broaden scope each season, to reach a national audience by highlighting architecture and sustainability best practices from regions around the country, then around the world.

Basic episode structure:
Segment 1: Overview of one of the styles or periods (Pre-Puebloan, Puebloan, Hispanic, American, etc...) of historic architecture in New Mexico
Segment 2: How modern designers are using the techniques of the historic style
Segment 3: Shows viewers how to implement these techniques for themselves and create a space they LOVE!

Our Mission
Who We Are
Episode Guide
Still Shots of Shoot Locations
Research Opportunities
Sponsorship Opportunities
Partner Film Locations
Sponsors, Friends
Advisory Core Team
Press and Media

Television Shows and Documentaries

A4E will produce engaging multi-media content that shares the best of regional design.

Our first project is Built for Life: Southwest, an engaging public television program that will look at the 1000 years of architecture history in New Mexico, as told by the builders and their ancestors.

We'd love to do regional versions of this programming throughout the United States, and eventually partner with aligned organizations around the world to produce the world's largest vernacular building library.

Classes, Tours, and Workshops

A4E's offerings will be available via workshops, on-line and in-person classes, a hands-on building institute, as well as through videos, TV shows, and documentaries.

We’ll also offer an annual series of architecture, permaculture, preservation, agriculture, and cultural tours of New Mexico, then around the US, and eventually… around the world!

Upcoming Events

                                                               Coming Soon!

Built for Life Southwest: La Posada Beauty Shots

Just a sneak peek of some of the film we got on location at La Posada in Winslow, AZ. In the full episode, we'll celebrate legendary female architect Mary Colter's La Posada Hotel in Winslow, AZ, alongside beautiful, sustainable architectural oasis just outside ABQ, Los Poblanos Historic Inn and Organic Farm.

Built for Life Southwest: Los Poblanos History

 

In this interview, Matt Rembe, Executive Director of Los Poblanos Historic Inn and Organic Farm, shares with us what motivated his family to rehabilitate these extraordinary buildings by legendary NM Architect John Gaw Meem into a historic hotel and cultural center. In the full episode, we'll celebrate this beautiful, sustainable architectural oasis just outside ABQ alongside legendary female architect Mary Colter's La Posada Hotel in Winslow, AZ.

Built for Life Southwest: Los Poblanos Garden Tips

When we were filming for Built for Life:Southwest at Los Poblanos, we got some great tips from Farmer Kyle about plants that are easy to grow in New Mexico. We knew that this would not make the cut for the show, but we did want to share with our viewers, so we made you a little video!!! Happy gardening! LOVE Los Poblanos!

Thank you to Djochoua Belovarski on film and Trio Los Primos for the AWESOME soundtrack!