I am a historian of architecture and landscapes. My research focuses on the built environments and family networks of Spanish and Mexican ranching in the Southwest. I am also interested in practices of survey, mapping, and drawing as a means of understanding and interpreting historical spaces.

19.1_Underground Spatialities

teaching, interactive, installation
How do we see underground space? How do we sense it?
This experimental and experiential course introduced students to thinking about underground space through volume and movement. It built on scholarship that examines the geopolitics of volumetric space using underground water movement as a case study. We visited and studied three underground formations: Rice University's tunnel system, the Natural Bridge Caverns near San Antonio, and the Houston Cistern. Combining field trips, seminar discussions, and computer modeling techniques the students produced a multimedia exploration of underground space that combined movement, sound, film and photography. In this class, students gained analytical and practical skills to design their own investigations of space by translating theory and data into multimedia forms.
Collaboration with Andrea Ballestero (Anthropology, Rice) and Johannes Birringer (Theater and Choreography, Rice/Brunel University)
Students working on finishing touches on the installation.
Students working on finishing touches on the installation.
Emphasizing the tactile affects of undergound space - during a visit to the Natural Bridge caverns we were admonished that human touch alters the cave's growth.
Emphasizing the tactile affects of undergound space - during a visit to the Natural Bridge caverns we were admonished that human touch alters the cave's growth.
Video and projection in small rooms created by a labyrith of hung plastic sheeting
Video and projection in small rooms created by a labyrith of hung plastic sheeting
Video and motion sensor installation
Video and motion sensor installation
Under[Gallery] reception at the Moody Center for the Arts, Rice University
Under[Gallery] reception at the Moody Center for the Arts, Rice University
Under[Gallery] reception at the Moody Center for the Arts, Rice University
Under[Gallery] reception at the Moody Center for the Arts, Rice University
"Graffiti" on touch-sensitive paper encouraged visitors to make their mark on the space.
"Graffiti" on touch-sensitive paper encouraged visitors to make their mark on the space.
The class relaxing after the opening.
The class relaxing after the opening.
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