Cultural Diversity: Celebrating Humanity in Architecture

The experience of attending a music concert, sharing a meal, and admiring art tends to be highly conducive to community building and appreciation. These events can act as uniting tissue between attendees who find themselves in close, physical proximity to one another under a common interest. What happens before, during, and after these moments has the potential to bring masses together and ignite a celebration of diversity through interaction and appreciation. This architectural thesis is inspired in the nature of music, and its ability to remain as a universal language between completely different demographics. This social condition presents a valuable opportunity to create a highly inviting and inclusive piece of architecture that, not only serves as a fine performance hall, art gallery, and food center but also gives great importance to moments of interaction at a variety of scales.  Every scale provides a unique opportunity to create connections between diverse demographics. The building itself ought to be a strong expression of the beauty of diversity within urban fabrics, as well as the programmatic arrangements that take place inside. The architecture should facilitate unity between opposites – a much-needed component in contemporary metropolitan conditions.  This thesis proposes a new building typology that’s appropriate for all diverse, dense, and growing urban environments. Austin, Texas is being used as a first, pilot site for the project.