I’m honored to have received this award from the AIA Los Angeles, and even more to receive it from the hands of “the” Matthew Rolston
Park Here, by Luis Ayala
Arapytu House, by Joseto Cubilla
This is a house that I photographed back in February, that my dear friend Joseto Cubilla designed. He named it Arapytu that in Guarani translates to atmosphere.
Although I was born in Paraguay and studied our native language in school, I can't say that I understand it, nor that I speak Guarani, something that I profoundly regret. So I asked Joseto what the meaning of Arapytu is, and he explains that like all languages, although it translates as atmosphere, there's a little more to it. The word Ara, also means day, space, and weather. Pytu means breath but also dark. For the native guaranies, Arapytu is the ideal space to be, where there's light, but there is also shade. You see, the weather in Paraguay is 360 days of heat and five days of even more heat. So guaranies understood that they have to use shade as a mechanism to cope with extreme temperatures.
Joseto uses this principle to design this house. It is located in Surubi'i, an area 30 minutes away from the capital, Asuncion, with lush vegetation, an enormous variety of birds, and even monkeys that were very curious about our visit. He respects the presence of existing trees and locates the footprint in the spaces between them; some of them are even wrapped around the built environment, creating courtyards.
The material palette is straightforward, concrete slabs, brick walls, and wooden load-bearing columns. Natural stone on the floors and floor-to-slab windows opening to the majestic views of the surrounding nature.
Reflecting on the experience of inhabiting these spaces, although my stay was brief, it was clear that the boundaries between interior and exterior were blurred; at all times, I felt I was outside yet protected. It was a hot and humid day, but it felt fresh under the shade. The constant sound of birds and cicadas lull your senses, providing that hammock with hypnotic powers, as if living in nature under the magical space guaranies preferred, Arapytu.
Emancipation Park in Houston
Last week, Emancipation Park in Houston's third ward was re-opened. It was a day of joy and festivity coinciding with "Juneteenth" which is the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States.
Designed by Perkins+Will, lead by Phil Freelon, FAIA, he wrote: "Visitors to Emancipation Park encounter a variety of experiences as they enter and move through an interwoven tapestry of buildings and landscape. In addition to the Park’s recreation offerings, there are multiple cultural and historic elements in the design, some direct and visible, and others more nuanced."
We were asked by Perkins+Will to document with our photographs this important date in Houston's history.
Photos by Mariella and Luis Ayala.
Inside/Out Exhibition →
From August 3rd to September 4th, the exhibition Inside/Out will be open to the public in the College of Architecture at University of Houston.
This is installation has been designed and built by architecture students lead by professors Jason Logan and Josh Robbins, re-interpreting traditional construction methods of this area.
As always, honored to photograph LOJO's work. Congratulations to the team!
Inside/Out
Adapting a Shotgun Storehouse for the Greater Fifth Ward
Inside/Out is simultaneously an exhibition about Houston’s Fifth Ward community and a structure-in-waiting.
The title describes both the way in which the design research is organized and the way in which the built structure will function once it is re-constructed within an existing building – supporting a dilapidated shotgun storehouse from the “inside-out”.
The exhibition is a cross-disciplinary e ort between the Interior Architecture program (INAR) and the Community Design Resource Center (CDRC) at the University of Houston, in collaboration with numerous community partners and stakeholders. The exhibition showcases research developed during the Collaborative Community Design Initiative, an e ort organized by the University of Houston’s CDRC in 2013-2014. This research provided the context for a design/build studio co-taught by adjunct professors Jason Logan and Josh Robbins in the INAR program. Working with community partner Olivet Missionary Baptist Church in the Fifth Ward, the INAR 3501 spring studio considered the adaptive re-use of a “shotgun” storehouse into a public reading room and e-resource center. The resulting structure was fabricated in the University of Houston’s Keeland Design Center and built by the studio over a two week period. At the conclusion of the exhibition, in early September, the structure will be disassembled, transported, and stored on-site until additional funding is raised for the reassembly of the structure within the existing shotgun storehouse.
On the outside of the structure, visitors will find a selection of the research used in the studio to frame both the history and the context of the Fifth Ward. This out-side information influenced the design development of the inside structure throughout the semester. Inside the structure, visitors will find design process documents, models, and fabrication drawings developed during the three phases of the spring 2015 INAR design/build studio. These documents track the evolution of the design and how it is integrated into the project site. A
“Projective Map” on the outside of the structure links the INAR project to the larger Fifth Ward community development strategies proposed by the CDRC. In doing so, the structure stands as a both a prototype for a way of making, and a prototype for sustainable community development.
#houstonArchitecture
This is BRAVE Architecture.
Recently I've been asked to photograph this project designed by Brave Architecture. This little jewel is a police station located in Houston's Police Memorial Park, very close to downtown and Buffalo Bayou. The function of this program is to host officers 24/ 7 that are guarding the park and the Memorial that honor Houston's police force and the officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty.
Brave Architecture, lead by Fernando Brave, FAIA, is one of the most prestigious firms in the city, reason why I feel deeply honored by them inviting me to capture their work.
www.bravearchitecture.com
Photographing LSU Hilltop Arboretum, Lake Flato architects →
Last month, I've been asked by Lake Flato architects to photograph this beautiful project they did for Louisiana State Univesity in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. An addition to their original project was finished recently. I was struck by the beauty of this place and how perfectly the building blends with its environment. Users are constantly flowing through spaces and all kind of activities are going on, like wedding photo sessions, seminars for elementary students, families enjoying a break or people walking their dogs.
Pictures don't make justice to this place. This is truly a must visit project if you are in the area.
To see more photos click here: http://www.ayalavargas.com/lsu-hilltop/
It's alive!
The new www.ayalavargas.com website is live!
After several months in the making it's finally here, I hope you like it.
