IMAGING THE ALAMO

ARCH 305 | FALL 2021 year)

Role: Design | Drawings | Representation | Physical Model

Software: Rhino, Illustrator, Zbrush, Keyshot, Photoshop

This studio focuses on the issue of representation and the impact that it has on the understanding of architecture. Our project studies the Alamo, a Texan landmark to the Mexican War of Independence, through ornamentation and cinematography to challenge and expand on this landmark’s romanticized history. The exhibition center is designed as a timeline, which begins on the exterior with etched concrete panels with images that guide the visitor to experience the building chronologically. The narrative continues on the interior through permanent niches and interchangeable storefront window displays, staged to represent various facets of the fort’s history through its function as a Catholic mission to the museum that it is now. These images are a reflection on the cultures, their codes and signifiers, and how they can be used to produce a new work of architecture.

The storefront window displays were chosen as an alternative means to the artifacts storage; they are interchangeable and are carefully staged to represent a three-dimensional episodal narrative of the Alamo, inclusive of various cultural codes.