During our trip at the Cooper Hewitt Museum, Edcouch-Elsa Fine Arts Center project, which was displayed at the exhibition called “By The People” compelled me a lot. It was designed by Muñoz & Company, which consists of architects who dedicate some of their work to society. This project was dated between 2005 and 2007. The piece caught my attention because of its multi-colored structure. Also it aimed to ameliorate an immigrant community. This was an important reason for me to choose this piece because it is a common issue back in my country. I’ve been following the news about immigrants since it remaining on the agenda of Turkey. The fine arts center targets to engage with students, teachers, folklorists, historians and artists in order to help them design more art pieces and make public discussions. The building was made for a specific school area called Edcouch-Elsa Independent School district and it got his name from the school too. This fine arts center was positioned very strategically above the highway. By this way it became visible from all directions. The designers and architects are inspired by the traditional Latino narrative music form. It is called the high school’s fight song or corrido. The vertical and colorful structure of the building originates from the fight song’s sound wave pattern. The piece worked to create ‘A Better America’ because it introduces the fundamental basis on how to create a design and how to talk about art to people living in that area. Those became developed about the Arts. So it is basically works as a non-profit organization aiming to create a strong bond between art and society. To create this piece, the designers and architects may have done a primary research by interviewing or giving surveys to those people living in the district to see their needs about the issue. The have probably composed the project according to those necessities.
