Sandia people have been able to use outside influences while retaining their pueblo's organization, values and identity. Architecture Structures of archaeological or historic interest are within the jurisdiction of state and national park services. Kuawa or Coronado State Monument is approximately 3 miles from the pueblo's present-day site. Abo, Quarai and Gran Quivira Monuments to the southeast are under the jurisdiction of the Salinas National Monument. Adobes are clay mud mixed with straw, tamped into forms and allowed to dry into uniform size while terones are dried mud cut from water bogs and shaped into blocks.
Most structures are flat-roofed.
Traditional materials and construction techniques that are aptly suited for the area's climate remain in use today. The sun-dried adobe brick houses have stood for generations and remain warm in the winter and cool in summer. By comparison, homes built of cement blocks and mortar under a Department of Housing and Urban Development program in 1970 have not endured as well as structures built with traditional materials. Arts and Crafts Many of Sandia's unique artistic techniques were lost for a period of time but have been revived and are thriving.