Awards
This project involved the adaptation of a prominent historic masonry structure within the heart of Oaxaca's city center. Following a trip to Oaxaca to document the existing building, our studio was tasked with adapting the building to preserve an existing law school while incorporating a new museum and residential wing. We strongly feel that historic preservation champions and protects places that tell the stories of our past. We continue to lose so many beautiful artifacts of the past, and it is our role as architects (not just as preservationists) to protect and enhance what once was. A key to the project was identifying the original aspects of the building needing to be preserved, and exploring how these characteristics could best become essential ingredients to a contemporary, new world design. We identified the various courtyards as the heart of the building, and aimed to emphasize the unique feel and function of each. In doing so the project centers around three unique experiences. The first, an intimate wooden courtyard, where students and visitors participate in interactive museum exhibits. The second, an open and expansive courtyard centered on the sound, sight, and cooling effect of water. And finally, the third, a natural “living” courtyard that places emphasis on communal and outdoor living typical to Oaxaca. By incorporating lessons from the existing infrastructure, the project aims to successfully nest a contemporary intervention within the historic urban center of Oaxaca.
Jessica Kulow
