Marfa is an isolated western Texas town with a diverse community of people who have lived on the land for generations. In more recent decades, an influx of artists and travelers have stumbled upon Marfa and have been captivated by its quirkiness. There is something unique about the culture, and more importantly, the barren and isolated landscape that influences those who come to stay. Most of these people are artists who find that the lack of distraction and simplicity of the landscape provides the ideal environment for creativity. Regardless of who is living there, all have a connection to the landscape and prioritize its preservation.
Marfa is full of galleries and museums, but what that they lack is a place that serves to educate, foster collaboration, and enforce the preservation of the landscape in its users. The addition of a library dedicated to landscape benefits the people of Marfa by acting as a database where information is collected and curated by those who live on and experience the landscape every day. The program seeks to connect historical/inventorial data as well as experiential data that is provided by the two main communities within Marfa (artists and ranchers). By creating a database where this information is centralized, it allows users to understand and appreciate the landscape from various points of view.
This concept is realized through the circulation of the library by ushering users into the ground through series of ramps and stairs that allow users to experience the landscape in new perspectives; whether below the ground or above the roof. Program is organized as puzzle pieces which help to signify the connection between historical and experiential programs. At the center of all these programs are spaces where users are urged to “do” through meeting spaces, soil labs, or studio spaces.
Marfan's Relationship to the Landscape.
View and Experience
Sections drawn by partners Emily Potenza, Chase Halter, and Olivia Birritteri.
The library utilizes rammed earth walls as a way to expressed the extrusion of the earth to create space. It also provides a method of insulation by thermal mass and uses local materials to minimize the amount of transportation of materials to the site as Marfa is an isolated community.
