CULTURE / GEOLOGY / MEMORY
THESIS / CONTINUING EXPLORATION
A PLACE BETWEEN WORLDS
Architecture as portal. Memory as material.
Cross the thresholdTHE ORIGIN STORY
ORIGINS emerged from the noise of modern life: a search for stillness, memory, and geological identity. It began with a thesis proposal for a contemplative center in the Las Vegas Arts District, shaped through late nights and quiet sketches. It explores architecture as ritual, using enduring materials to reconnect land, time, and spirit.
A portal to the cultural and geological heritage of a place. Light, water, air, and stone make its stories perceptible again. Living communities help carry that memory forward.
Meet the elementsChoose a city. Reveal what came before.
Contemporary photographs / Artistic reconstructions of earlier landscapes
Las Vegas Valley / Before urban growth
Groundwater surfaced in springs and streams, sustaining meadows within the Mojave Desert. These waters supported Indigenous gardens, settlements, and journeys across the valley. This is Nuwuvi (Southern Paiute) territory, with living communities today: a landscape shaped by water and generations of knowledge and care.
A possible ORIGINS here: An Arts District threshold where the city's glow recedes, spring water becomes audible, and stone and framed sky reconnect visitors with the valley.
An artistic interpretation informed by historical and ecological research. The earlier landscape is an AI-assisted reconstruction, not a surveyed historical view. Springs were localized within the desert; their position here is illustrative. Cultural interpretation would be developed with the communities whose histories it carries.
Springs Preserve · Las Vegas Paiute Tribe
Photograph (2025-10-17): Robert Conforti for the David Aughinbaugh II Photo Collection. Resized and converted to WebP. Earlier landscape: AI-assisted transformation by Ground Zero; CC BY 4.0. Source photograph · Photographer / collection · CC BY 4.0
02 / LIVING MATERIAL
Air becomes movement. Water holds reflection. Light reveals presence. Stone carries time. Touch the studies to see these forces take form.
ARCHITECTURAL VISION
Architectural concept visualization.
COPPER / AIR / MOVEMENT
Individually balanced copper leaves catch light as they turn. Small movements create a visible rhythm across the surface.
A full-scale study could pair replaceable copper leaves and low-friction pivots with concealed actuation for carefully composed movement in sheltered settings.
Concept visualizations developed with AI. Live studies illustrate material behavior; all work is proposed.
03 / ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPTS
In the Las Vegas concept, Corten, mineral surfaces, and a framed sky make room for the valley beyond its contemporary image. The illuminated stone becomes a quiet focal point: a material encounter with the land beneath the city.
AIR BECOMES A SURFACE
Air becomes legible through a field of copper leaves. Patina carries time across the surface; each small movement gives the local atmosphere a visible expression.
Copper leaves / individual pivots / replaceable modules
A SUSPENDED ELEMENT
An overhead reservoir releases a fine veil into a reflecting pool. In a desert setting, the encounter draws attention to water as a source of settlement, survival, and memory.
Overhead reservoir / falling veil / reflecting basin
PRESENCE WITHOUT EXPOSURE
Concrete retains its mass and texture while warm optical points register a passing presence. In a future installation, this surface could carry locally authored traces of people, movement, and memory.
Mineral surface / optical fibers / diffuse illumination
04 / SHARED AUTHORSHIP
A flexible room for artists to develop installations, lead workshops, and gather an audience. Local voices help determine which stories the place carries, and how they are shared.
FLEX SPACE / CONCEPTUAL PLAN
CHANGE THE OCCASION
A central installation with room to approach from different sides. The work gives the space its character, while the edges remain places to pause.
05 / POSSIBLE SETTINGS
Each portal begins with the site: its geology, cultural histories, and living communities. Work with local and Indigenous stewards, historians, and artists to determine what to reveal and how to share it.
01 / THE EVERYDAY CITY
A wind surface or light installation in a courtyard, cultural forecourt, or well-used pedestrian route. Start in Las Vegas, or respond to the rhythms of another city.
Partner with a host and local artist on a temporary installation. Listen to visitors and observe how they choose to engage.
02 / A CULTURAL LANDSCAPE
A contemplative route at a museum, landscape center, or cultural site. Thresholds could gradually reveal the stories and natural setting of that place, shaped with the people who hold its knowledge.
Co-design one threshold or material study with local stewards. Learn what it reveals and what needs a different voice.
03 / SPACE FOR LOCAL CREATORS
An adaptable space within a cultural venue, campus, or community host, shaped around artists and the audiences they want to welcome.
Support one artist and one public programme. Use their experience to develop the next configuration together.
Explore shared space06 / AN INVITATION
I’m looking for local and Indigenous cultural stewards, artists, and hosts to develop a first installation together. Bring a place whose stories deserve to be felt.
Let’s talk about ORIGINS on LinkedIn, opens in a new tabORIGINS / Drew Giovanni Solache. Developed from Ancient Threads in the Urban Fabric, my 2024 B.Arch thesis at Academy of Art University. Its 2025 ORIGINS exploration of time, place, silence, ritual, and earth continues through these proposed Ground Zero experiences.
