Josue Alvarez Recognized with AIA Pasadena & Foothill Design Award
Third year B.Arch student Josue Alvarez was recently recognized with a 2018 AIA Pasadena & Foothill Design Award for his Garden District project. The Pasadena & Foothill AIA Design Awards program provides a forum to celebrate design excellence and innovation as well as providing an arena where architects are recognized by their peers for their effort and dedication to the profession.
The concept behind Josue’s Garden District was inspired by a variety of ways to explore. As a form of Spatial Blossoming, the concept is realized through a new man-made topography. The change in levels was a concept that influence the placement of the dwellings. The new architecture also responds to the Los Angeles River. After a site visit it was clear that the river was isolated, contained by a slab of concrete and fences that isolate the neighborhood from it. Garden District changes this by creating ramps and a grand stair case to welcome passerby. The new re-purposing of the existing commercial building allows for new retail opportunities. The Garden District is a place that will show how nature and architecture can quickly become one in the same.