PRIMARY INSTRUCTOR LUIS PANCORBO
STUDIO PROFESSORS INES MARTIN ROBLES, LUIS PANCORBO, and CHARLIE MENEFEE

GRADUATE PROGRAM | YEAR TWO

WORKS COMPLETED ALONGSIDE KENDRA CHOW
 

SARA | NY Design Awards 2021

MERIT AWARD RECIPIENT

The project responds to the duality of urban condition through its focus on two realms : the rigid and flexible. This dichotomy relates to the existing opposing forces of movement and stability and the struggle to balance these with familial migration frequently found around Boyle Heights.

In order to accommodate both the vehicular focused street front and pedestrian nature of the plaza, the façades respond accordingly by incorporating both rigid elements and circular, fluid typologies. The urban edges on Pennsylvania avenue and the western alley are anchored by the hinge generated on the north west corner.

Systematic rigidity is incorporated internally through the grid pattern, which organizes and informs programming and circulation. The circular façades hint at the patterning of Mariachi Plaza, becoming an extension into the building. Thus the resulting form is one half displaying the rigid and stable, while the other half embraces flexibility and movement as it opens up towards the community.

Overall, the project aims to encourage community engagement, acting as a point of convergence between the pedestrian and the realm of the larger urban framework - tying together two themes of movement while maintaining a consistently open relationship with the surrounding neighborhood.