BACHIA by Selina Martinez

Finding a "balance between the sacred and mundane" has been a driving force for recent M.Arch graduate Selina Martinez. As she completes her academic journey and steps into her career, Martinez emphasizes the role indigenous cultures have on the built environment. In her thesis BACHIA, she focuses on "prioritizing the survival of Yaqui communities, culture, and knowledge" and how this investigation within indigenous communities impacts infrastructure.

A recent graduate from Arizona State University, Martinez shares her experiences of navigating the completion of her thesis during a pandemic and discusses adjusting her workflow via remote learning. We also discuss her thoughts on the architecture industry and how her passions have given her a specific perspective on the future of employment. "I think it is obvious that we need to uplift diversity in these fields, as a lot of architecture schools are still led by white men and continue to teach 'Bauhaus' design processes that disregard ecological and social justice issues."

Archinect's Spotlight on 2020 Thesis Projects: 2020 has been an extraordinarily challenging year for architecture graduates. Students were displaced as schools shut down, academic communities had to adapt to a new virtual format, end-of-year celebrations were canceled or changed dramatically, and now these students are graduating into an extremely challenging employment market. To support the 2020 class we're launching a summer series of features highlighting the work of thesis students during this unique time of remote learning amid COVID-19. Be sure to follow our 2020 thesis tag to stay up to date as we release new project highlights.

This exploration is a study into how cultural keystone species can influence, inform, and direct design on a multiplicity of levels within existing infrastructure in the Yaqui Guadalupe community.

Indigenous cultures notably share a commonality of seeing themselves in relation to nature versus above or against it.

Please briefly describe your thesis/final project and your inspiration.  

Indigenous cultures notably share a commonality of seeing themselves in relation to nature versus above or against it. Keystone species within ecosystems often have a big impact on their environment when their populations thrive, evolve, expand, or diminish. Cultural keystone species expand on this and are innately interconnected in a cultures life-ways, food-ways, ceremony, and world views and often contextualize the roots of one’s indigeneity through nature. This exploration is a study into how cultural keystone species can influence, inform, and direct design on a multiplicity of levels within existing infrastructure in the Yaqui Guadalupe community. Prioritizing the survival of Yaqui communities, culture, and knowledge around health/food sovereignty to develop a vision that responds to the demands, needs, and hopes of the next generation of Yaqui’s to come. 

The point of the project was to create something to share back with my community that could start a conversation around our traditional plant and food knowledge to help facilitate multi-generational dialogue around food to further our evolution and resilience as a tribe.

How did your project change as studios transitioned to remote learning? 

The transition to remote learning initially took some adjustment time to figure out how to proceed within all the chaos. Initially, I had to opt out of the first digital review due to lack of progress but was able to re-motivate myself to continue. I also had to figure out how to stay stimulated and focused in my home environments, whereas I typically like to work in a diversity of spaces (studio, coffee shops, library) and keep my living space work free. Despite these minor struggles I do feel privileged to have been able to continue my independent project without many external issues others may have had to deal with due to the pandemic. The project itself was able to put the cultural and design research at the utmost importance over design development without external pressures to get into the details of construction. The way the project is organized and presented is more of a speculative interjection of indigenous world views at the center of how an urban indigenous group could potentially start to reintegrate connections to our vast traditional ecological knowledge in an urban context away from our homelands. The point of the project was to create something to share back with my community that could start a conversation around our traditional plant and food knowledge to help facilitate multi-generational dialogue around food to further our evolution and resilience as a tribe.

I feel the architecture industry must undergo transitions and awareness on a multiplicity of levels regarding how our design work impacts the next generations.

As a recent, how do you feel about the architecture industry right now and job prospects?

I feel the architecture industry must undergo transitions and awareness on a multiplicity of levels regarding how our design work impacts the next generations. And how narratives of projects should begin with community and nature in mind to really have timeless meaning. I think it is obvious that we need to uplift diversity in these fields, as a lot of architecture schools are still led by white men and continue to teach 'Bauhaus' design processes that disregard ecological and social justice issues. Job prospects vary depending on place but it seems clients are still looking for designers to bring life to their ideas. I would suggest that now is the time to take the role of entrepreneurs and put yourself out there for various design jobs not just architectural work. Diversifying one's skillset can lead to more opportunities and relationship building that may come in handy when you land that dream architectural job or lead you toward something that makes impact at a different scale.

Job prospects vary depending on place but it seems clients are still looking for designers to bring life to their ideas. I would suggest that now is the time to take the role of entrepreneurs and put yourself out there for various design jobs not just architectural work. 

Any tips for students working through their final projects? 

Whether it is a traditional studio prompt or an independent project, I feel it is important to find an exploration point that connects to one's identity or expands on an area one is willing to invest their time in. Additionally, there are other ways to spark creativity for design projects through other outlets that don't feel like work. For me that was transforming my backyard through planting trees, gardening, and painting murals. Our holistic well being must be prioritized, especially during these uncertain times.