Saint Michael Monastery
This small Orthodox monastery stands in a dramatic valley outside a Spanish-speaking village in New Mexico. On the mesa overlooking the site lie the ruins of the 1000-year-old pueblo which the residents abandoned when they moved to valley 400 years ago. The monastery superior asked Andrew to design a master plan for their buildings and gardens that would function according to the needs of an Orthodox monastery, but would reflect the ancient building traditions of New Mexico. The site is difficult, as the only buildable land is a narrow serpentine band between the hillside and the irrigated farmland. Andrew arranged a chain of interconnected buildings and gardens that reflect Athonite monastic patterns of land use and local adobe construction methods.
