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Vigas are
wood Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...
en beams used in the traditional
adobe Adobe (from arabic: الطوب Attub ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for mudbrick. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is use ...
architecture of the
American Southwest The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural list of regions of the United States, region of the United States that includes Arizona and New Mexico, along with adjacen ...
, especially in
New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
. In this type of construction, the vigas are the main structural members carrying the weight of the roof to the load-bearing exterior walls. The exposed beam-ends projecting from the outside of the wall are a defining characteristic of Pueblo architecture and of Spanish Colonial architecture in New Mexico, often replicated in modern
Pueblo Revival architecture The Pueblo Revival style or Santa Fe style is a regional architectural style of the Southwestern United States, which draws its inspiration from Santa Fe de Nuevo México's traditional Pueblo architecture, the Spanish missions in New Mexico, S ...
. Usually the vigas are simply peeled logs with a minimum of woodworking. In traditional buildings, the vigas support ''latillas'' (
lath A lath or slat is a thin, narrow strip of straight-grained wood used under roof shingles or tiles, on lath and plaster walls and ceilings to hold plaster, and in lattice and trellis work. ''Lath'' has expanded to mean any type of backing m ...
s) which are placed crosswise and upon which the adobe roof is laid, often with intermediate layers of brush or soil. The ''latillas'' may be hewn boards, or - in more rustic buildings - simply peeled branches. These building techniques date back to the Ancestral Puebloan peoples of 750 to 1300 CE, and vigas (or holes left where the vigas have deteriorated) are visible in many of their surviving buildings. Since the popularization of the modern Pueblo Revival style in the 1920s and 1930s, vigas are typically used for ornamental rather than structural purposes. Noted Santa Fe architect John Gaw Meem (1894-1983) incorporated ornamental vigas into many of his designs. Contemporary construction in
Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , literal translation, lit. "Holy Faith") is the capital city, capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Santa Fe County. With over 89,000 residents, Santa Fe is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, fourt ...
, which is controlled by stringent building-codes, typically incorporates ornamental vigas, although the 2012 revision of the residential building-code gives credit for structural vigas. Older structures that have been reconstructed (e.g. the Palace of the Governors in Santa Fe) may contain both structural and ornamental vigas.


Etymology

The word ''viga'' is
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
for "beam", "rafter" or "girder".


Composition

''Vigas'' are typically about 6 to 10 inches (15.24 to 25.4 cm) in diameter and average 15 feet (4.6 m) long. Pinyon (Pinus edulis) and
Ponderosa Pine ''Pinus ponderosa'', commonly known as the ponderosa pine, bull pine, blackjack pine, western yellow-pine, or filipinus pine, is a very large pine tree species of variable habitat native to mountainous regions of western North America. It is t ...
were the most common wood species used for ''vigas'' during the 17th century.
Engelmann spruce ''Picea engelmannii'', with the common names Engelmann spruce, white spruce, mountain spruce, and silver spruce, is a species of spruce native to western North America. It is highly prized for producing distinctive tone wood for acoustic guitars ...
is preferred because of "wood character and lack of cracking," but
Ponderosa pine ''Pinus ponderosa'', commonly known as the ponderosa pine, bull pine, blackjack pine, western yellow-pine, or filipinus pine, is a very large pine tree species of variable habitat native to mountainous regions of western North America. It is t ...
(''Pinus ponderosa'') is more commonly used. Because the availability of ''vigas'' longer than 15 feet is limited by the size of the trees cut for the purpose, traditional ''viga''-constructed rooms are typically less than 15 feet (4.6 m) wide. A layer of smaller branches or saplings known as ''latillas'' or ''latias'' (laths) is laid over the top of the vigas, and then a slightly sloped layer of adobe is added on top of the ''latillas'' for insulation and drainage. Although ''vigas'' were sometimes salvaged from old buildings to erect new ones, such as in Walpi, this practice depended on the condition of the site and the material salvaged. The use of traditional rounded ''vigas'' changed with the arrival of the railroad in the 1880s, which brought dimensioned lumber, and
immigrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...
who used different construction methods, from the east coast.


Materials

Cutting trees for vigas was usually done in winter because of the good temperatures. "Dead and down" trees were the preferred source for vigas in the adjacent forests. Traditional vigas were usually cut to length with metal axes. ''Latillas'' were also collected, along with other construction materials at the same time. To make transportation easier, wood preparation usually was done before shipment. Large labor crews were involved, and vigas were transported from the mountains by teams of
oxen An ox (: oxen), also known as a bullock (in BrE, British, AusE, Australian, and IndE, Indian English), is a large bovine, trained and used as a draft animal. Oxen are commonly castration, castrated adult male cattle, because castration i ...
. Some construction historians have mentioned the use of ''latillas'' under the vigas for carrying poles. Wood cutting was an important aspect of material production. If cutting was done shorter than needed, the builders had to wait until one year later to get the same material, thus representing a problem. These issues led to some structural and designing decisions in constructions, such as the building of second walls inside the proposed building so shorter materials could be used. Large diameter vigas were cut first so that they can dry or cure for a longer period. As lighter elements for transportation, ''latillas'' or ''latias'' were cut last from various wood types. These were then sorted and laid out in different patterns from the vigas and painted in a different colors. The 1846 American immigration brought notions of
New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
architecture. New technologies substituted the use of vigas for machine-sawn beams, among other construction techniques that followed to the 20th century. This practice did not interfere with the use of vigas for mostly decorative purposes in the Pueblo Revival Style architecture between the 1920s and 1930s.


Structural assembly

Traditional vigas were mostly used for
structural A structure is an arrangement and organization of interrelated elements in a material object or system, or the object or system so organized. Material structures include man-made objects such as buildings and machines and natural objects such as ...
purposes in buildings. Vigas were often spaced 3 feet (0.91 m) apart, although irregular or unequal spaced was characteristic of Spanish colonial architecture. Buildings using viga roof construction vary from large institutional buildings to small ones. The amount of vigas used for a room vary, but six was the standard. Some rooms in Acoma are roofed with five to nine vigas. Also, other structural practices were added to later buildings, such as placing horizontal bond beams to transfer structural loads to the adobe roof. The extension of vigas some feet outside of the wall is a standard practice. This was used for the creation of ''portales'' or covered porches. An ''umbral'' or
lintel A lintel or lintol is a type of beam (a horizontal structural element) that spans openings such as portals, doors, windows and fireplaces. It can be a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented/structural item. In the case ...
was added for support of the viga along with vertical posts in these spaces. The porch's roof treatment was the same as in the interior room, but the space provided was used for different purposes. Vigas were usually installed with the smaller ends to one side of the roof to facilitate good
drainage Drainage is the natural or artificial removal of a surface's water and sub-surface water from an area with excess water. The internal drainage of most agricultural soils can prevent severe waterlogging (anaerobic conditions that harm root gro ...
. Vigas usually sat directly on the adobe or
stone walls Stone walls are a kind of masonry construction that has been used for thousands of years. The first stone walls were constructed by farmers and primitive people by piling loose field stones into a dry stone wall. Later, mortar and plaste ...
and were strapped. Decorative
corbels In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal keyed into and projecting from a wall to carry a bearing weight, a type of bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in the wall, whereas a console is a piece applie ...
were used in the ''portales'' and in the interiors. New technologies, especially in Pueblo Revival Architecture, were integrated. The practice of anchoring vigas with rebar through pre-drilled holes at opposing angles and the designing of parapets for anchoring, was ideal for vigas in low flat roofs. This was used to prevent roof uplift. The vaulted viga roof is another type of structural system using vigas, using parapets on the two side and eaves on the ends. The roof is left exposed on the interior and ''latillas'' are placed parallel with others in a diagonal pattern.


Examples


Featured buildings

*
Acoma Pueblo Acoma Pueblo ( , ) is a Native American pueblo approximately west of Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the United States. Four communities make up the village of Acoma Pueblo: Sky City (Old Acoma), Acomita, Anzac, and McCartys. These communities ...
* San Esteban del Rey Mission * Pueblo del Arroyo * Palace of the Governors *
Taos Pueblo Taos Pueblo (or Pueblo de Taos) is an ancient pueblo belonging to a Taos language, Taos-speaking (Tiwa languages, Tiwa) Native American tribe of Puebloan peoples, Puebloan people. It lies about north of the modern city of Taos, New Mexico. T ...
* Mission Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles de Porciúncula de los Pecos * Pueblo Bonito * La Fonda on the Plaza * Taylor Memorial Chapel * Cristo Rey Church *
New Mexico Museum of Art The New Mexico Museum of Art is an art museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe governed by the state of New Mexico, United States. It is one of four state-run museums in Santa Fe that are part of the Museum of New Mexico. It is located one bloc ...
* Painted Desert Inn * Cabot's Pueblo Museum * Hodgin Hall * Estufa *
Chaco Culture National Historical Park Chaco Culture National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park in the American Southwest hosting a large concentration of pre-Columbian indigenous ruins of pueblos. The park is located in northwestern New Mexico, betwee ...
* Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument *
Santa Clara Pueblo, New Mexico Santa Clara Pueblo (in Tewa: Khaʼpʼoe Ówîngeh ɑ̀ʔp’òː ʔówîŋgè "Singing Water Village", also known as "Village of Wild Roses" is a census-designated place (CDP) in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, United States and a federally rec ...
* Mission Nuestra Señora de la Asunción de Zia * Kewa Pueblo, New Mexico


See also

* Adobe roof * Putlog hole


Notes


References

*Bunting, Bainbridge (1983). ''John Gaw Meem: Southwestern Architect''. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. *Cameron, Catherine M. ''Architectural change at a Southwestern Pueblo''. PhD. Diss., University of Arizona, 1991. *Dickey, Roland F., and Faris, Tom. "Earth Is Lifted: Domestic Architecture in New Mexico." ''Southwest Review'' 33, no. 1 (Winter 1948): 31-37. *Frederick Gritzner, Charles. ''Spanish Log Construction in New Mexico''. PhD. Diss., Louisiana State University, 1969, 63. *Gleye, Paul. "Santa Fe without Adobe: Lessons for the Identity of Place." ''Journal of Architectural and Planning Research'' 11, no. 3 (Autumn 1994): 181-96. *Harris, Cyril M. ''Dictionary of Architecture & Construction''. 4th ed, 1045-1046. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2006. *Hunter, Kaki, and Donald Kiffmeyer. "Roof Systems." In ''Earthbag Building: The Tools, Tricks and Techniques'', 115-18. Gabriola Island: New Society, 2004. *Knox Wetherington, Ronald. ''Early Occupations in the Taos District in the Context of Northern Rio Grande Culture History''. PhD. Diss., University of Michigan, 1964. *McAlester, Virginia, Suzanne Patton. Matty, and Steve Clicque. ''A Field Guide to American Houses: The Definitive Guide to Identifying and Understanding Americas Domestic Architecture'', 542-545. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2017. * *Phillips, Charles, and Alan Axelrod, eds. "Architecture: Adobe Architecture." In ''Encyclopedia of the American West''. USA, 1996. *Riley Bartholomew, Philip. ''The Hacienda: Its Evolvement and Architecture in Colonial New Mexico 1598-1821''. PhD. Diss., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1983. * * *{{cite journal , last1 = Windes , first1 = Thomas C , title = Dendrochronology and Structural Wood Use at Pueblo Del Arroyo, Chaco Canyon, New Mexico , journal = Journal of Field Archaeology , volume = 35 , issue = 1, pages = 78–98 , doi = 10.1179/009346910x12707320296757 Architecture in New Mexico Spanish-American culture