The brief for this project asked for a new Motel on old Route 66 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The brief did not propose a budget so I decided to make a dream motel with all the dream materials (privacy/ electrically switchable glass), an unorthodox structure, and parking spaces for electric vehicles (a big stretch in 2012 in Albuquerque).

Although making a sandwich building with a pool on the middle level and the reception and cheaper rooms on a sunken ground level made a cool model (complete with a New Mexico sky) the project overall I don't believe was successful.

I have included the project here because the photos came out really well and at least show my model making skills (read: attention to detail) applied to sheet steel, acrylic, chip board and wood.

This was a design for a boxing ring for Las Vegas, New Mexico. Las Vegas has a long history of great boxers but at the time did not have a dedicated place for boxers to train.

The brief for this project asked us to help rejuvinate the downtown main street of Las Vegas which has been suffering decades of slow economic and social decline since the trains ceased to stop at its train station.

This boxing ring would provide a place for people to practice their craft, one proudly associated with Las Vegas, in such a way that passers by could glance down into the ring and watch bouts or just look straight in to see people training inside or, if it is warm enough, out in what used to be a gravel alley.

The strong modern contemporary look of the building was used to signal a new era for a cornerstone cultural practice.

This is another project that I personally enjoyed researching and designing and blending the two together into what was ultimately just a fancy basswood model.