Architectural Designer at Mat-Ter
Architectural designer at Mat-Ter, an architecture firm located in Newbury Park, California
PROFILE
Hugo Martinez
Guest
FROM Hugo Martinez
Design and Architecture
A Bubble Built for Storytelling Three months ago, we launched a competition for a sound booth for Sonic Trace, a show of stories from immigrants from Mexico and Central America produced by Anayansi Diaz-Cortes and Eric Pearse-Chavez. A month later we announced the winner, Hugo Martinez, who, together with his partner Christin To, had designed La Burbuja or Bubble -- a silvery globe with a womb-like interior with comfy cerise seating. We asked them to build it for $5000 and have it ready by the end of August. And we knew that the very features that made their scheme so alluring –– the curves, the upholstery, the smooth silver surface -- would be very challenging to build. We even wondered if they’d be able to pull if off. One week ago, Sonic Trace and KCRW hosted a party at Guelaguetza , the famous Oaxacan-style Mexican restaurant. And there in the corner of the room was the La Burbuja. And it was a very cool silvery pod, with a very hot pink interior –- far pinker than we had anticipated. Along the way, Hugo’s brother-in-law, Evaristo Cardenas had suggested they make it rosa Mexicano -- Mexican pink. And people at the party, KCRW listeners, including immigrants who had come to share their stories with Sonic Trace were being drawn to the orb, climbing inside and relaxing into its soft seating. Frances speaks to Wendy Carrillo about her experiences inside the bubble, and architectural assistants Megan Pryor and Carlos Moreno about building it. If you'd like to donate to La Burbuja, the Kickstarter fundraiser has already met its goal but will still be taking donations for a few more days. The bubble coming together at Mat-Ter's studio Forming the orb of the sound booth Installing the hot pink plush interiors The bubble in action, photo by Javier Cabral The team created a slideshow to show their process, which you can also view over at Flickr .
Design and Architecture
The Sonic Trace Competition Slide show of all submissions for the Sonic Trace sound booth competition Click to view FULL SCREEN, then SHOW INFO, this way you can view information about the submissions and the architects and designers! Last month we launched a competition to find a design and designer for a sound booth for a new show of stories from Mexican and Central American immigrants being created by Anayansi Diaz-Cortes and Eric Pearse-Chavez. The conditions were tough: a tight budget, tight deadline and the designer had to build the project themselves. But still we got lots of interest and by the end of last week, many solid proposals. The jury of KCRW staffers included DJ Raul Campos and our engineer David Greene, who admits he had his eye on practicality. We found ourselves torn between equally delightful options but in the end we were drawn in fact to a “sphere of silence," a bubble, or, in Spanish, La Burbuja (shown above), a silvery orb that would open up in sections like a chocolate orange to reveal a womb-like recording space inside. The concept was for a “non-place”, in which the interviewee would be suspended in time and space, while passersby would see themselves reflected in a mirrored globe both dematerialized and opaque. Designer Hugo Martinez explains why he submitted his powerful design along with his strong personal reasons for taking on this project. Martinez, who is also a contractor, will get to work building his Bubble. He’s convinced he can realize his silvery bubble on time and on budget; we’ll track the process and keep you posted. You can also see his design and all the others on display starting this Friday at Dwell on Design , the modern design show at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Sonic Trace is being created in partnership with Localore, a national initiative from the Association of the Independent in Radio.
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