PROJECT TYPE: Urban Planning, consulting

DATE: 2012

LOCATION: Taos, NM

ROLE: Consultant, designer

SUMMARY: This project aimed to be a collaboration with the Taos County Economic Development Corporation. Taos County’s small scale, sustainable ranchers struggle to get their meat certified and accessible to the local consumer. Mobile Matanza, a program of the non-profit Taos County Economic Development Corporation (TCEDC), provides a USDA approved mobile slaughtering service and a meat aging and processing at their permanent Taos Facility. However, the facility needs capacity to sustain the developing market for locally raised meat. As well, the design of the facility is not inviting, is not handicapped accessible and does not take advantage of the potential for community engagement.

Wide Angle Curve would have provided additional design services for TCEDC, resulting in expanded freezer capacity and a revitalized landscape. This project would have improved the ability of local ranchers to earn a fair price for their livestock while helping to keep sustainably raised meat in Taos County. Lastly, our design process would have engaged local students in an educational collaboration with UNM Taos’s green building program.

Through a small design and build project Wide Angle Curve will double the capacity of Mobile Matanza’s meat storage from 12,000lbs to 24,000lbs. This extra space will allow for organic meat certification. The project will create a new facade consisting ofan ADA ramp, shaded outdoor seating and native plantings. We will design a facility that showcases Mobile Matanza as a pioneer in the field of rural, sustainable, humane meat production. These improvements will give TCEDC a boost in funding PhaseII of the program, a retail outlet providing sustainable, healthy, affordable meat to local consumers. Students will also participate in the project, learning valuable skills for future employment.

Entrepreneurship is a priority of Wide Angle Curve and this project will build capacity for an existing program by supporting local business development. Our design process will encourage local exchange and increase awareness of the social, economic, and environmental issues that are critical to the community of Taos.