ABQ BIOPARK HERITAGE FARM
Centrally located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the sprawling ABQ BioPark is the most visited site in New Mexico with one-and-a-half million visitors per year. Families enjoy the BioPark’s Zoo, Tingley Beach, Aquarium, and Botanic Gardens. However, within the Botanic Gardens is a nearly-hidden, working-farm exhibit that includes heritage animals like Percheron workhorses, Alpine goats, Navajo-Churro sheep, and Dominique chickens. The farm also showcases heirloom fruits and vegetables grown using historical farming techniques of Indigenous Americans, Hispanic settlers, and Anglo settlers. The farm’s tranquil setting on the Rio Grande River is also home to native and migratory wildlife: black-tailed weasels, porcupines, coyotes, rock squirrels, raccoons, rabbits, and Sandhill cranes.
Architect
Sam Sterling Architecture
Location
Albuquerque NM
Category
Community
Acreage
19 acres
Buildings
Four existing
Three new
Structures
Four barns
Construction Cost
$7M
To address the farm’s low attendance caused by inaccessibility, poor wayfinding, and lack of a central entrance, the city has undertaken a seven-million-dollar renovation to make the Heritage Farm a central part of the BioPark. The park’s leadership is committed to fulfilling their mission of fostering a new generation of New Mexicans who appreciate sustainable food practices as an abiding part of their heritage. With the help of a large team of experts, from engineers to scientists to architects, the city is revamping the farm to draw bigger crowds, enhance the visitor experience, and increase revenue.
The beloved Zoo train will be relocated to the Botanic Garden and Heritage Farm, connecting the farm to the rest of the park for the first time. A new Heritage Farm visitor center, called the Hacienda, will be the hub of the renovation with food service and additional restrooms. Vineyards of mission grapes and other heirloom grape varietals, with intermittent rows of pollinator-attracting plants, will be integrated into the central entrance. Pastures for bison, cattle, and horses will be expanded. The orchard will double in size. Four new open-air barns will be built to care for the farm animals and provide covered spaces for demonstrations of farming practices and other educational programs.
ME&E designed mechanical, electrical, plumbing systems, fire protection, and communication systems for Heritage Farms structures, buildings, and acreage that blend into the historical aesthetic while providing modern conveniences.
