“The design team’s dialogue with the community was key to defining priorities and opening the discussion of how the architecture could reflect identity and culture.”
The mission of the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center (MACC) is “the preservation, creation, presentation, and promotion of the cultural arts of Mexican American and Latino cultures.” Since the initial phase was completed by Mexican architect Teodoro González de León (1926-2016), a wave of urban growth and gentrification in the surrounding neighborhoods has pushed the Mexican American community farther from the city center. Adjacent developments attempted to privatize the public parkland, while the existing building was being pushed beyond its limits.
The City of Austin selected the joint venture of Miró Rivera Architects and Tatiana Bilbao ESTUDIO to realize Phase 2. The design team’s dialogue with the community was key to defining priorities for the expansion, and opening the discussion of how the architecture could reflect identity and culture. Throughout six months of community engagement, the design team learned how the community viewed the building itself as a statement of resilience and visibility for the Mexican American populace. In response, the design increases the MACC’s presence by “reclaiming” surrounding parkland through landscaping, programming, artwork, and bilingual signage. To improve security without sacrificing openness, a combination of grade changes and railings/gates allows greater control over the grounds.
Two brick-clad extensions embracing a circular central plaza, or zocaló, have transformed the MACC’s capabilities. The revitalized zocaló accommodates over 4,000 people and includes an 80-foot-diameter shade structure, event lawn, festival lighting, infrastructure for food trucks and live music, and a pedestrian entrance from the adjacent hike-and-bike trail. Inside, a combination of highly customized facilities as well as modular, flexible spaces—including a teaching kitchen, community gallery, dance studio, music hub, classrooms, and art studio—respond to the needs of both the present and the future.
In alignment with the City of Austin’s green building policy for municipal buildings, the Phase 2 expansion anticipates both LEED Silver certification and a 3-star rating from the Austin Energy Green Building Program. Based on a whole-building energy analysis model, the ESB-MACC will use 38.4% less energy compared to baseline. The landscape of native and adapted plants (many of which are found throughout both Mexico and Texas) will reduce outdoor potable water consumption by 94.7 percent.
PROJECT
Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center
Phase 2 Expansion
LOCATION
Austin, Texas
CLIENT
City of Austin
SCOPE
New Construction & Renovation
PHOTOGRAPHY
Rafael Gamo