This thesis explores architecture's role as host and its relationship with guest through the research and design of a new youth hostel for Washington, D.C. The etymological duality of host is confronted in the project's structure, as well as its liminal spaces. This new hostel offers comfort, protection, affordable accommodation, learning opportunities, and moments of camaraderie to young guests of the nation's capital. / Master of Architecture

No, she is not my mom, not my aunt, we are not family. Yes, we do look alike, we do live in the same neighborhood, we smell the same coffee beans each morning, and we share the same zip code. The only difference between us is I do have an actual address here, she does not. Yes, she must have lived here much longer than me, she has a history in this town, a lot of the people would recognize her smiling spirit right away, yet she only occupies a corner in a street near a coffee shop most of the year. Everyone knows that space is hers, except the legal papers. Where are you from? The question may seem so simple, but regardless of how many times I am asked the answer has never been so easy for me each time I am asked, and I am asked very often. Belonging, identity, countries, tribes, bloodlines and borders are things that confuse me a lot, and for that I decided to do my thesis about them, trying to find an answer to a simple question, in a very complicated universe. I chose to study these matters through a transitional program, in a transforming neighborhood and for users who are in their most confused age; an international 6 boarding school in Dupont circle. / Master of Architecture

A Clinic for the study of Sleep Disorders The proposal for a clinic for sleep disorders sited on the edge of Dupont Circle within the District of Columbia. This thesis is a reference to time and movement as it relates to our individual perception. We each experience our environments differently and architecture should be prescribed to the fit the needs of the individual. It is the study of design evolution along a time-line. The science of effect. As we move along a line how does our environment and influence shape the final outcome? In architecture, process is the task of understanding. The following documentation is my personal time-line along that undefined path. / Master of Architecture