Blurring the Horizon

Culture and Community Center | Tucson, Arizona

The design proposal for the Downtown Tucson Culture Station was greatly driven by its surrounding context. The location of the site holds a critical position in the urban fabric of the city due to the strong presence of the historic train tracks. 

With densely populated adjacencies, the site offers the opportunity for a hybrid organization of programmatic spaces that responds to the urban context. Solar orientation, is one of the key factors that influences the overall design. The location and orientation of the site is a result of intense sun exposure making it uninviting for the public. However, by designing spaces that are lofted above the ground , it provides a shaded open air plaza for vendors, markets, and other events to take place throughout the year.  

The changing heights of the spaces are a symbolic response to the various buildings scales surrounding the site. The strong linear pedestrian access from the train station as well as the orientation of the train create a strong axis for a linear organization of the programmatic spaces.