LUCAS IGARZABAL ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO
M.I.T. , M.Arch 2021 University of Florida, B. Design 2017 305.988.3228 lucasiga@gmail.com
CONTENT 01
0° Removed
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02
The Room
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03
Offshore
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04
YMCA: Expedient Workout
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05
Landscape Intervention
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06
Conectividad Alegal
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07
District Tower
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08
Museo de la Libertad
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Lisbon, Portugal
Instructors: Florian Idenburg + Christopher Weaver
0° REMOVED |Curating | Artistry | Power Dynamics | A transformation which denies the current procedures of distributing and displaying art.
The current museum, in which art is transported and then placed on exhibition acts as a disconnecting filter between the object displayed and the observer. This institution would become a space in which objects are being made in-house. A space where visitors can observe how the pieces are being created and gain a better understanding of the layered process of creation. This in-person connection deepen the connection between visitors and the pieces on display. Removing filters, demystifying the creative process, and normalizing the practice of making. The project also focuses on developing a space which connects to the emerging art scene in Lisbon, creating an institution where people from diverse artistic backgrounds can come together and experiment with new methods of art production. A space where observers as well as artists can educate themselves on new techniques and methods of production. The studios focus on four methods of art production. Each category has different space and noise restrictions which dictates the area and location inside the museum.
Spring 2019 MIT
0°Removed
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Museum
Artists
Museum
Public Artists
Museum Transformation
The new institution would become a space in which objects are being made in-house. A space where visitors can observe how the pieces are being created, and by doing so, gain a better understanding of the layered process of creation.
Site Plan Scale 1:1000
Public
Exposed to View
Glassblowing
Woodworking
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Ceramics
Methods of Production
Each category has different space and noise restrictions which dictates the area and location inside the museum.
Ground Level Floor Plan Scale 1:500
Metalworking
The four methods of art production the museum focuses on are: glassblowing, ceramics, woodworking, and metalworking. The dimensions of machinery for the various art production initiatives and the high noise levels generated from them dictate the placement and buffer zones between the studios and galleries. In addition, the varying energy consumption and heat discharge of studios also determine their placement and location. For example, studios with high energy consumption are situated near each other, allowing for more efficient energy distribution. A series of communal spaces become the meeting ground for production and exhibition. Here, studio productions collectively form new bodies of workexhibiting a diversification of material products and exchange of information. An open dialogue between the artists and visitors gives greater accessibility and demystifies the artistic process. Visitor interaction is further cultivated by including an above-ground circulation system. This allows users to walk between gallery spaces, studios, and designated communal areas without disrupting the creative atmosphere. This connection allows the museum visitors to appreciate the production process, translating it into a performance piece, scripted or unscripted, spontaneous or carefully orchestrated. The connecting membrane between interior and exterior spaces transforms the atmosphere and creates a more dynamic experience.
Skydome exterior translucent dome Resin coating Skydome cladding Fixed on galvanized steel Seagrass matting stapled on cladding Substrate and vegetation intensive type roof Filter Vapor-barrier Insulation Watertightness Drainage layer Reinforced concrete
Skydome Detail
Precast concrete panel Precast concrete panel anchor Archor plate Rigid Insulation Stud cavity Interior gypsum board Shear connection cast into panel Spray insulation fill
Loading docks positioned adjacent to the studios facilitate the distribution of materials, allowing the continuous production of artistic objects without disturbing the visitor experience. The ease of transportation of large-scale materials provides a less restrictive creative process. Ample height in studio spaces further allows artists to perform without spatial limitations. The dome ceiling structure facilitates the equal distribution of sunlight inside the studio spaces.
Cast-in-place anchor
Firesafing and smoke seal Line of weather seal at panel joints Line of air seal at panel joint
Concrete Wall Detail
Exposed to View
Metalworking Space
Visitors observing art production from above.
Sky View
Observation ramp connects visitors with art production as well as surrounding views.
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Cambridge, Massachusetts
Instructor: Rachely Rotem |Partner: Y. Macken + Z. Xu
THE ROOM |Connectivity | Foreign | Tangible | When regarding the body in relation to the room, the following comes to mind: wearables are submissive to the body.
Whereas a physical room restricts behavior. This notion became a guiding principle to the process, concluding that a successful room should not only restrict certain use, but also support other use- much like an auditorium that allows a speaker to be heard or a living room that invites coming together. The object should allow interaction with multiple bodies and an array of positions. Therefore, the shape implies positions through undulating and organic geometry. The interior structure, a wooden frame, provides rigidity. By applying a soft material such as polyurethane foam to the shell of the object, the incentive for tactile interaction is increased. The aim is to connect the polyurethane foam shell to the frame in such a way that no connections are visible and the skin remains continuous. Come in, stay for a while.
Spring 2017 MIT
The Room
Sectional of Room & Room Users
Close Up Photos of Room Surface
10
A room should limit, but also accommodate specific uses. A matrix of possibilities was developed to explore how this interactive machine would be transformed through different degrees of softness and restriction. This exploration of materiality and void became a driving factor for the development of the design, transforming the room into a more welcoming space. After a series of studies, the development of an ultrasoft atmosphere that still restricted the users was chosen. This type of materiality would incite exploration of the object and still be able to project the desired positioning on the users. First experiments revolved around restriction of movement. Realizing that a room should not only limit, but also accommodate certain use. A room allows for activities and interaction, focusing on designing a room that would freeze certain positions. The project became a tool to incentivize a common intimate moment, a hug. The conduct became increasingly lifelike, rather than being a barrier it grew its own identity. The project became more of a social experiment, with a tactile object as the connector between people.
Room Working
Precast concrete panel Precast concrete panel anchor
Hidden pockets under folds allow communication with the object and sometimes with other users. The feel, appearance and smell all contribute to the sense of the object being a friendly companion. In order to increase the interaction of people with the object, the object was placed at the large lobby in Building 10 on the MIT main campus, to maximize the exposure to users. The big scale of the space made the object appear friendly and small, such contributing to its attractiveness.
Archor plate Rigid Insulation Stud cavity Interior gypsum board Shear connection cast into panel Spray insulation fill Cast-in-place anchor
Firesafing and smoke seal Line of weather seal at panel joints Line of air seal at panel joint
Room During Break Time
The Room
Public Interaction
Passing-by visitors meeting the room, discovering new possibilities of interaction.
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Montreal, Canada
Instructor: Mariana Ibañes |Partner: Charlotte D'acierno
OFFSHORE |DNA Sequencing | Submersible | Data Storage| Offshore is a project which tests a new means of living with our data in a new context.
Because of its potential for natural cooling and energy generation, the ocean may offer a unique opportunity to house both our expanding data and human populations and deal with the byproducts of an increasingly technological world. We start with a semi-submersible rig as a symbolic and physical scaffold, a structure that can exist just offshore or deep in the ocean without being anchored to the bedrock. The areas above and below the water are linked formally and organizationally, although their material characteristics differ to reflect their distinct environments. Living space for people is primarily above the water. Personal capsules cluster together to form a dynamic organization of spaces that can change in shape and quantity depending on the needs of the time. These capsules are connected to flexible ‘branches’ that can supply water, remove waste, and rotate to realign themselves based on pod needs. The capsule space is surrounded by a lightweight algae skin that can absorb carbon dioxide, filter pollution, and expand or contract depending on the number of capsules.
Fall 2019 MIT
Offshore
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Central community spaces underwater encourage exploration of the marine environment. Transparent polymer panels allow for uninhibited views. Community spaces such as the cafeteria are coupled with scientific exploration, such as a DNA-sequencing lab. Below the water, the spaces and infrastructure are primarily dedicated to the storage and management of data. A series of pods drop below the surface. Where we need no oxygen or light we have server farms, serviced by a robotic system. The envelope thickens to allow for increasing atmospheric pressure and provides cavities for cold ocean water to act as a coolant. Just as we envision new interactions between us and our data, we envision OFFSHORE as an interface between the synthetic and the natural. Some pods are intentionally left as frameworks to provide sanctuary for marine life, but as data needs change they could become enclosed. Likewise, enclosed pods could be unclad and become habitat. Tensile filaments are 3D printed around the pods; in their flexible state, these fibers harvest energy from the ocean’s currents. But in contrast to the traditional model, which mainly takes from the environment it occupies, OFFSHORE also aims to give back to the ecosystem. As the filaments densify they solidify into branched structures around these pods, an artificial scaffold for coral to grow on and a sanctuary for marine life.
0 ft 0 atm 24 deg
-50 ft 1.5 atm 24 deg
-100 ft 3 atm 23 deg
-300 ft 10 atm 18 deg
This artificial reef encourages new kinds of marine ecosystems, existing in a state of perpetual growth and balance. Using state-of-the-art sensors, the synthetic system samples and archives the DNA of its human and aquatic inhabitants, using the data to create a uniquely balanced ecosystem for each growing community. As the pods begin to change scale and density, they form connections between communities and the mainland, a new kind of coastline, an “in-float,” rather than infill. OFFSHORE is part of a network of other data-driven communities, although each one is constantly evolving based on the unique needs of its residents. Longitudinal Section
Offshore
Above the water
Personal capsule clusters surrounded by Algae Skin.
Below The Water
Artificial reefs protects structures and encourages new marine ecosystems.
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Physical Model with AR Interface
The AR Interface elements alows users the ability to explore the pods in a 3D environment
Offshore
AR Interface: Deep Water Data Storage
Some pods are intentionally left as frameworks to provide sanctuary for marine life, but as data needs change they could become enclosed.
AR Interface: Deep Water Data Storage
The cold underwater temperatures reduce the costs of cooling data servers and protects the stored DNA
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Coney Island, NY
Instructor: Jennifer Leung
YMCA: EXPEDIENT WORKOUT |Efficiency | Destination | Obsession| A need to be fit, fast. Who has the time or energy? Can we just expedite the process and get results?
Extracting principles from the obsession with expedient forms of exercise, from the world of 5-minute workouts, 2-minute abs, P90X and CrossFit addiction, the project aim is to create an efficient machine for this type of expedient workout platform. Safety regulations do not bring in results. By combining different types of exercise machines and workout activities into a new, more dynamic linear motion, the project creates a circulation system which in turn transforms the form of the design. The idea of machinery integration led to the analysis, exploration, and mutation of existing, and experimental types of exercise and gym workout equipment. Extracting principles from these studies which would be applied to the formation and organization of the proposal. These developed moments would be used to create different modes of vertical and horizontal circulation. Interconnecting moments into a linear loop, producing the desired results for the users while shaping the project into a more dynamic setting and atmosphere. The fast-paced exercise experience would allow users to maximize results with minimal time commitment.
Fall 2017 MIT
YMCA: Expedient Workout
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Longitudinal Section
(a.) Running Wheel (b.) Weight Lifting/ Water Heater (c.) Alternating Angle Ramp (d.) Olympic Pool (e.) Basketball + Core Machine (f.) Parachute Fall (g.) Diving Post (h.) Elliptical Stairs (i.) Climbing Wall (j.) Water Tube (k.) Topo Path (l.) Ball Pit
YMCA: Expedient Workout
Second Level Floor Plan
(a.) Running Wheel (d.) Olympic Pool (e.) Basketball + Core Machine (g.) Diving Post (i.) Climbing Wall (j.) Water Tube
Third Level Floor Plan
(a.) Running Wheel (b.) Weight Lifting/ Water Heater (d.) Olympic Pool (g.) Diving Post (g.) Diving Post (j.) Water Tube (k.) Topo Path
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The extraction of different ramp angles from a modified treadmill was applied to the different serving ramps connecting the project in several areas. Increasing or decreasing the intensity of the workout routine. Combining basketball shooting with an abdominal exercise machine, not only created a new type of movement, but also produced the possibility of the integration of a ball pit into the project. The adaptation of an Olympic swimming pool into singular lanes was made to include swimming into this looped program principle. This allowed the gym user to explore the facility using the waterways. The running track was modified into a type of hamster wheelapparatus, allowing the user to transport himself/herself horizontally as well as vertically. Elliptical machines were stacked, forming a new type of vertical system, more demanding than the usual stair circulation. The exercise of diving, and a water tube were integrated as a form of downward vertical circulation, giving the gym users a more expedient way to descend. The backside of the water tube was modified into a rock climbing wall. Adding to this looped circulation while reducing the size demands of this program.
Parachute Fall Elliptical Stairs Running Wheel Pool Circulation Weight Lifting/Water Heater Climbing Wall Topo Path Water Tube Diving Post Basketball/ Core Machine
Another factor applied to the creation of these machines was the idea of developing a connection to the necessities of the gym, developing workout situations which would benefit the user as well as the gym, in a form of symbiotic relationship. This was made by adding activities in which the user would carry wood as a form of weight into a furnace, which would be used to heat up the water of the pools and other gym equipment. The addition of a parachute at the top of the gym, dropping into the center of the second floor’s ball pit, would be used as a type of finish line to the exercise system. The results of the users would be displayed on the outside façade of the project, informing people who are walking by what new type the user was able to generate and by doing so, what type of atmosphere generated inside.
Ball Pit/Landing Pad Alternating Angle Ramp
Exploded Axonometric
YMCA: Expedient Workout
Parachute Fall Launch
One of the last exercises on this chain on events allows the gym member to float down on a parachute into the large Ball Pit located at the lower level.
Workout Machinery Diagrams
Machines used in the YMCA connect with one another, creating an exercise chain.
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Cedar Key, FL
Instructor: Charlie Hailey
LANDSCAPE INTERVENTION |Smoke | Tide Movement | Parrillada | Reacting to the natural and artificial conditions, understanding the changes in the surrounding.
This project is a study of a particular region known as Cedar Key, located in central Florida, a few miles away from Gainesville. The project develops a series of three interventions: a kayak launch, barbecue, and dining space. Each one ceremonial in their programmatic performance, as well as their connection to the landscape and each other. Tidal movement in the area was one of the most influential factors in the design of the interventions. On average, the water level in this area rises and falls five feet per day. This restriction on occupancy was taken as an opportunity to develop interventions capable of transforming themselves with the change of the tides. The arrival and departure throughout the day became responsive to these changes in environment. Developing these interventions generated a symbiotic relationship between architecture and the site, enriching the experience of the visitors.
Fall 2015 UF
Landscape Intervention
Overhead Condition Reacting to Tidal Change
Smoke Studies
Understanding the flow and movement of smoked, allowed this element to be used as another building material.
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Connecting the project to the Argentinean tradition of Parrillada, the dinning and barbecue interventions were formed by splitting the act of creating food and the act of eating. In the Argentina, the dinning table location is set at a distance of the parrillada, allowing the dinning experience to be more than just the act of eating. By doing this, the dinning part of the experience becomes a place where people can spend time sharing food, and stay in the middle of the site exploring the views and enriching the bond between them and nature. The first intervention developed was the kayak launch, which allows visitors to deploy their kayaks with ease. This was made possible by extruding a floating platform that remains above water levels. The barbecue space was developed on the water’s edge. Smoke generated by the barbecue is transfered into an overhead exhaust which travels into two different vents. The first vent transfers the smoke into a translucent overhead, shading the visitors from the sun and protecting them from smoke. The second vent guides smoke to the opposite side of the cooking space, causing it to drop downward waterfall into the water. This condition enforces the connection between the visitor and nature. In between these two sites sits the dining intervention where occupants come together to enjoy their meals in the surrounding of the natural environment. The overhead condition in the dinning intervention reacts to tidal changes through the use of a buoyant mechanism.
VIEW FROM KAYAK LAUNCH INTERVENTION
VIEW OF ARRIVAL TO BARBECUE INTERVENTION
Longitudinal Section Observing All Three Interventions (i) Kayak Launch (ii) Dinning (iii) Barbecue
Landscape Intervention
View of Arrival to BBQ Intervention
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Havana, Cuba
Thesis Advisor: Hans Tursack |Partner: Marisa Waddle
CONECTIVIDAD ALEGAL | Alegal | Resolver | Criollo | This thesis investigates the rapid rate at which the changing of ownership, production, and policy has affected the Bay of Havana.
In 2009, the Cuban government designated a single free port on the island just 40 kilometers west of the Bay of Havana. This free port, The Mariel, marked an era of economic restructuring, a common occurrence in the past century. The project is a speculation of a future that aims to return this site to its citizenry. It argues for the Cuban philosophy of resolver to leverage the resilient culture of Havana’s citizens against foreign opportunism. It explores the transformation of the site over the next five decades, as it adapts to the ever-changing economic, social, and political landscape of the country. The project salvages key components of the site, as opposed to depleting it of its resources. It develops new industries along the entire shore, adapted from abandoned factories, which circumvent material scarcity and access restrictions. The thesis operates between Havana’s historic ebb and flow of scarcity and surplus, defining a new vernacular of grassroots urbanism. Full presentation project video link: https://youtu.be/QiEitd8FBB4
Fall 2021 MIT
Conectividad Alegal
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Bay of Havana: Exploded Axo
Factory Zones, Railway, & Usable Industrial Objects. Relics of a forgotten past.
Conectividad Alegal
The site left in abandon
Punta Marti is nestled in between an inoperable oil refinery and a degrading thermoelectric plant, industrial relics which block pedestrian access with imposing structures.
Tallepiedra Thermoelectric Plant
This facility has supplied electricity to residents in Cuba’s capital city. By 2021, leaks and unstable structure have slowly rendered it unusable, and it now stands on the verge of collapse.
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PART I: TURNING POINT
Urban Farming, animation still with drawing overlay.
Once Havana’s largest farming collective has dismantled the structure, the land will be re-imagined into a series of small community farms.
Urban Farming, animation stills
Water Collection, animation stills
Conectividad Alegal
Crane Lifting Old Material, animation still with drawing overlay.
Station 6 will follow in the footsteps of the recently reclaimed Nico Lopez Oil Refinery, an aging complex whose deconstruction reconnected the Coubre neighborhood to the water’s edge.
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PART II: EXPANSION
Introduction of Biogen Labs, animation still with drawing overlay.
The Zone retains its industrial heritage as a DNA research facility begins to take shape. The facility harnesses the unique expertise of biogenetic scientists already in surplus on the island, a proprietary industry that offers Cuba a global brand.
Introduction of Biogen Labs & Expansion of Farming, animation stills
Material collection & transportation, animation stills
Conectividad Alegal
Transportation of Construction Materials, animation still with drawing overlay.
The community also repairs the once-defunct rail line using I-beams from the Tallapiedra plant, reconstituting an infrastructure which allows for on-site transportation of wholescale industrial objects.
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PART III: REINVENTION
People Exploring New Landscape, animation still with drawing overlay.
While these crops will be exported beyond the Bay, some are sold in pop-up market stalls that regularly appear along the pedestrian path. The observation deck is a re-purposed smokestack, reinforced with salvaged metal.
Recreation, animation stills
Introduction of Kelp Farm, animation stills
Conectividad Alegal
People Exploring New Landscape, animation still with drawing overlay.
Nearby, neighbors erect a scaffold around another aging structure, an industrial beacon that is now a key node in a recreational network. Deteriorating construction elements are re-purposed, rather than abandoned.
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PART IV: YIELD
Construction of Normative Architecture, animation still with drawing overlay.
The BioGen facility has expanded into a DNA data farm, where increasing global data storage demands are met. Here, binary data is sequenced into genetic material, and preserved for storage.
Construction of Normative Architecture, animation stills
Bringing DNA Storage into the Bay, animation stills.
Conectividad Alegal
Bringing DNA Storage into the Bay, animation still with drawing overlay.
On the edge of the Bay, a crane grips a container from the BioGen facility. The machine lowers this innovative data system down 20 meters to the ocean floor, where it will be naturally cooled by deeper currents.
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View of Labs, photograph of scale model 1:100.
Conectividad Alegal
View of Landscape, photograph of scale model 1:100.
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New York, NY
Instructor: Donna Cohen |Partner: Bruno Kukoc
DISTRICT TOWER |Flâneur | Erfahrung | Radiation | Noise, pollution, lights. Elements that we start to ignore once they become part of our routine.
The idea of experience in the city was the driving force for the creation of the project. In an attempt to understand the experience of New York residents, we related our findings to that of the concept of flâneur, the casual wanderer, observer and reporter of street-life in the modern city. The environment of the city could be identified not as a chaotic scenario but one of shock-induced experiences, full of life and excitement yet at some points overwhelming. Understanding noise levels of the surrounding city and the impact these disturbances had on people was a key element for this design process. How far can the noise pollution travel upwards in a high density city as New York? And most important, would removing the noise from the building residents, damage the connection this building might have to the city itself? These questions drove the initial design iterations. Between loudness and silence, overwhelming and disconnecting.
Fall 2016 UF
District Tower
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Walter Benjamin utilizes two concepts to explain our human response to modern city life. Erlebnis, the shockinduced experience brought about by the overwhelming sensory bombardment of life in a modern city, one which sometimes we are able to tune out; similar to the experience of a worker bound to his regime of labor. Erfahrung, is a more positive response and refers to the wandering or cruising of the flâneur; the unmediated experience of the wealth of sights, sounds and smells the city has to offer. The objective was to develop a space which would allow the people to break away from the experience of Erlebnis and turn their experience into Erfahrung. A space which would transform one’s connection to the city from a state of anesthesia caused by sensory bombardment, to one of discover and calmness. This would be achieved by developing a welcoming structure which would invite the people in the street and disconnect them from the chaotic/shock of the city while still connecting them to the essence of their surroundings. The development of experience pathways diagrams, was generated by utilizing information of where people would share their moments utilizing social media. Generating connections between the data collected and our building was a major driving force in the development of the project. Part of the exterior skin of the building is covered with an intricate cable net structure composed of hinged elements that sway in the wind revealing the patters of the wind. The dancing facade is welcoming to people passing-by and it also functions as shade for the interior of the building, blocking sunlight and heat. Inside the building, intricate patterns of light and shadow, similar to the way light filters trough leaves of trees, are projected onto the walls and floor as sunlight passes through this kinetic membrane. Experience + Interaction Site Diagrams
District Tower
Wind Movement Affecting Site
Interior View of High-Rise Garden
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Havana, Cuba
Instructor: Mario Ortega
MUSEO DE LA LIBERTAD |Libertad | Justicia | Ruinas | Forgotten Debris as a reminder of the past, a time of freedom for the Cuban people.
The search for freedom. The revival of a culture in ruins. They whisper secrets of a rich history which has been overcome by darkness and violence. This project was generated by exploring the need of freedom as a basic human right. The intricate paths of the interior represent the different obstacles many Cuban people face in their search for freedom. The location chosen for this project site is an old prison, where many prisoners of war spent their days after Castro took power. Keeping in mind the shortage of resources the country of Cuba has, the project was designed to be built in pieces. The construction could start without the requirement of a large sum of money, and as resources become available, the rest of the Museo de la Libertad could be built. The interior of the project imitates the struggle of the Cuban people, their search for freedom and justice. The connection of the museum to its adjacent existing buildings was made to demonstrate the close connection these issues have with its people. Issues which might seem to go away if we look away, yet they start eating our insides sooner or later.
Spring 2015 MDC
Museo de la Libertad
Museum Sectional Model
Process Models
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