Issuu

Oscar Avila Salazar

Bethel Mausoleum, 1-12

A mausoleum and columbarium located in College Station, TX

RECREATION2RECREATION,

13-20

A regional recreation center for the city of Austin, TX.

IHMH Building, 21-28

A marina, hotel, and restaurant located in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.

Art for Architecture, Architecture for Art, 29-36

An exhibition space in Dallas, TX for works by artist Donald Judd.

BETHEL MAUSOLEUM

Course: ARCH 606

Location: College Station, TX

A mausoleum is a place where people’s stories are told and remembered, so this notion of telling a story is the influence for the layout and procession throughout the building. The visitors begin at the main entrance where they can gather as a community in the lobby and along the corridor. This would be the initial step of gathering people to tell the story. Then they proceed through the corridor and into the chapel where the story of their loved one is told for everyone to hear. After exiting the chapel, they can proceed to the crypt and columbarium wing, where they can remember the story of their loved one, or tell it to another person that is visiting with them. Finally, they can proceed down the corridor and towards the light, where they can step out onto the terrace and embrace the surrounding nature at the end of the procession, and then walk down the paths adjacent to the pond and return to their starting point.

RECREATION2RECREATION

Course: ARCH 608

Location: Austin, TX

The City of Austin, a progressive city that has been experiencing an astonishing rate of growth in recent years and will continue to do so, is only slightly above average in terms of health and fitness. Crucially, it is below average in all categories regarding recreational facilities and ammenities, which is an issue when considering that the city will only keep growing and residents will be even more underserved. An intervention through a major recreational facility can act as a representation of Austin’s progressive nature, and it can begin to alleviate the underserving of the growing population, while also acting as a catalyst for additional recreational facilities throughout the region. When thinking of a project of this scale, it is obvious that it will be in use for many decades in the future. This prolonged future use is crucial for the community as a whole as recreation centers provide not only the benefits of physical activity, but they also provide a place for people to gather and build a stronger sense of community with other residents. Ultimately, a project such as this one can place recreation and physical activity at the forefront of a city’s daily life, and it can even inspire other cities to follow in the same steps and create prominent flagship recreational facilities for their community as a whole.

Inner Harbor Marina and Hotel

Course: ARCH 405

Location: Baltimore, MD

Partner: Rodrigo Matas

Located in Baltimore, Maryland, the project aims to become a new center of attraction in the heart of the city. With the harbor just a few meters away, the first level houses a yacht & marina club. Above it, the restaurant offers and serves seafood dishes which are a staple of the city. The upper levels consist of a highend boutique hotel with the best possible views of the downtown area and the surrounding waters. Along with the sailing and seafood aspects, Baltimore has also been a large center of art for many years. To accomodate this, a large exterior area was created between the second and third floors. This space serves not only as an area for installations and showcases by artists, but also as a barrier between the large public areas below and the quiet, intimate rooms above.

Art for Architecture,Architecture for Art

Course: ARCH 605

Location: Dallas, TX

After a two-part investigation into the work of Donald Judd, which included an immersive trip to Marfa, TX, two ideas arose that influenced the development of the project: how moments are framed depending on the viewer’s position, and how Donald Judd selects existing and modest spaces to exhibit his work. Although the latter was not entirely possible in this situation, the atmosphere within those spaces that were explored could then be used to influence the spaces within the project itself in order to create a modest setting in which Judd’s objects are then framed. This results in the objects becoming a central and contrasting element that suddenly bring life to the spaces and materials around them.