This building is a conscious formal presence of ooxor - land that seeks to honor our Honuukvetam / ancestors through the collection of water as a means to create accessible, affordable, and sustainable hydroponic food substances for the people residing in urban Tovaangar / the Tongva World. The formal essence of Papavetam carries a resonance of cavernous cenotes, which are underground sinkholes fed by the Caribbean Ocean and storms.
This urban cenote is composed of 8 bellies, the 3 on the left are fed by the LA river, The four on the right hold hybrid spaces for edible plant matter and people. These are then connected by a central stomach which creates a symbiotic collective space for water, plants, and people. In the hope that this estranged space of union will provide a resource for the community to become more conscious about our current toxic relations with water, earth, and agriculture.
By creating an above ground cenote, we liberate the landscape from an invasive architectural footprint, leaving only limbs which dimple and rest upon the land. Creating multiple means of access to the building and a light topographic landscape that allows the land to naturally retain water and reclaim its original agency as a wetland.