Converging cultures : emerging identities : a project for immigrant and host communities

The contemporary Americanimmigrant becomes a subject that speaks to the dynamics of culture and place in today's society. In search for a new identity in a distant culture,the American immigrant possesses a deep sense of heritage while propelling, and in many cases struggling, toward a vision to fulfill a dream.The process and effects of immigration lend itself to address issues on a variety of levels including political, social, and psychological transitions. This semester discussion will incorporate the umbrella issue of culture and look into the changing identity of the immigrant within its newly found community.As a result of the current economic surge and greater accessibility of information, immigrants have passed over traditional ports of entry discvering new opportunities in America's heartland. Regions such as the Midwest and Great Plains are beginning to feel the effects of their newly acquired diversity that metropolises like Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York have long experienced. What does this mean for cities such as Louisville, St. Louis, and Indianapolis?As an overarching principle, this project considers the concept of convergence. Convergence often denotes a point at which several paths begin to align and comte together. As an architectural thesis, this project will attempt to set up a convergence where paths of cultures and people come together and possibly intersect raising the questions: what are the effects of this convergence of cultures on place? And how will should architecture and community respond? The context for this convergence will be located in Indianapolis where it has seen its immigrant population increase by half in the past five years most notably with the Hispanic population. As a case study, this project will be to design a learning and cultural center to serve the needs of newly arrived Hispanics while also providing a stage through which the community can better receive and welcome their new neighbors.n. 1. the act, fact or condition of converging 2. the point at which things begin to come together 3. the development of similarities in unrelated organisms living in the same environment.