National Hispanic Heritage Month

Pioneers of Change: Shaping the Future Together is the 2024 theme of National Hispanic Heritage Month. AC Martin is featuring individuals and projects that reflect this important theme. 

DR. AMANDA QUINTERO serves as the Senior Advisor to the President for Inclusive Excellence, and Equity Innovation Officer for the Global HSI Equity Innovation Hub at California State University, Northridge, located within the new Autodesk Technology Engagement Hub.

The theme of National Hispanic Heritage Month, “Pioneers of Change: Shaping the Future Together”, aligns seamlessly with the vision for the HSI Equity Innovation Hub at CSUN. The Autodesk Technology Engagement Center was developed with input from student populations, who played a key role in envisioning a space that not only addresses their academic needs but also feels like home—a place that inspires creativity, collaboration, and a sense of belonging.

The Equity Innovation Hub at CSUN goes beyond being a typical STEM or innovation hub. At its core, it is about equity innovation. CSUN is dedicated to innovating for student success, the future, and centering equity in program design. This commitment ensures that the communities the university serves are integral to shaping that future, creating a bold vision of   disrupting intergenerational inequity by activating the diverse talent we will need to ensure America’s future innovation economy.

The Autodesk Technology Engagement Center provides a physical space for whole family outreach in college access and STEAM programing to increase diversity and inclusion in STEAM educational pathways by providing access and opportunity, particularly for first-generation students who will become first –generation professionals in these fields. Many of these students are the first in their families to pursue a college degree, and the hub's resources and programs offer a pathway into careers in STEM fields—careers that may not have seemed accessible before. The goal is to inspire students by surrounding them with role models, images, and experiences that reflect their own communities and aspirations to create a more diverse and inclusive future workforce in STEAM, where everyone belongs.

CSUN is leveraging foundational partnerships with industry leaders like Autodesk and Apple to create culturally relevant practices and pathways that center on equity and access to technology. The space is designed to empower students and their families, providing the tools and resources necessary to trailblaze their own futures in the innovation economy.

Ultimately, the building is more than just a structure; it is a tool for engagement, a space that fosters creativity, belonging, and connection. By curating an experience that reflects the diverse communities CSUN serves, the Equity Innovation Hub is helping to build a more inclusive future workforce in STEAM fields. Through this transformative vision, CSUN is truly shaping the future together.

STEPHANIE MERCADO, a Boyle Heights native and emerging Los Angeles based artist, partnered with National CORE, NowArt L.A. and Los Angeles County to create a vibrant mural titled “East Los Luv” at the Las Dahlias affordable housing property in East Los Angeles designed by AC Martin.

The vibrant mural brings East L.A.'s rich heritage to life featuring portraits of neighborhood families, local icons, and cultural symbols, such as marigolds, lowriders, and monarch butterflies, celebrating the diverse cultures of the Maravilla neighborhood.

Mercado, a Boyle Heights native, sourced imagery through community engagement workshops and virtual meetings. She wanted the mural to reflect the lived experiences and contributions of local residents, stating, "I wanted to celebrate all of the contributions of people in the neighborhood that may not be recognized." The mural, blending printmaking with illustration, is her first large public project and was completed with the help of family members in just three months. Mercado hopes the mural fosters respect and appreciation for the diverse cultures in East L.A., continuing the tradition of public art as a chronicle of community identity.

Las Dahlias includes 78 apartment homes to low income or previously unhoused individuals and families. The transit-oriented development is conveniently located on the Metro E line, connecting residents to job opportunities in downtown Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley. Mercado’s mural graces the walls of the building facing the Metro E line, for all to enjoy.

Content from this post sourced from National CORE: https://nationalcore.org/artist-captures-the-heart-of-east-los-angeles/
Stephanie Mercado: https://stephaniemercado.com/

NOW Art LA: https://nowartpublic.com/

JESUS MONTES-HERRERA, an architectural designer at AC Martin, shares how his diverse background—spanning nursing, fashion design, and now architecture—connects to this year's Hispanic Heritage Month theme, Pioneers of Change: Shaping the Future Together. His unique journey across these fields highlights the power of interdisciplinary experiences in shaping forward-thinking design approaches, while honoring the cultural influences that inspire the world of design.

As architects and designers, I feel we all have a social responsibility to make the built environment more than just functional, but also likely to be beautiful and nurturing and humanizing, using our artistic abilities to edify, elevate, heal, and create a better future for us all.

ARCHITECTURE: The award-winning Chilean architect Alejandro Aravena immediately comes to mind when I think of the theme “Pioneers of Change: Shaping the Future Together.” Through his company Elemental, Aravena’s multi-faceted, inclusive approach to architecture demonstrates that design is about far more than just building structures. It’s about the spaces that we evolve and create, spaces that engage and address profound social issues such as providing adequate housing for people with low incomes, in ways that improve their wellbeing and foster community through every design decision. By reflecting on Aravena’s winning designs, I realize that by improving the human condition, designers have the potential to shape the future, every time they design for all.

In his Quinta Monroy houses, the care and attention to the accommodation of marginalized low-income communities is not just evident in the functionality and adaptability of the structures, but these people are also treated to apartments that feel dignified and beautiful. His work reminds me that architects can be innovators for change when they think of design as having a social imperative.

NURSING: A humane approach to design on this scale is also what led me from nursing, where I studied, to architecture. During my time in nursing, I became aware of how the spaces we inhabit can impact our mental, emotional and physical health. Whether it’s a hospital or a home, or something as public as a park, the way we engage with a space can significantly affect the way we feel. Appreciating this in my own education has led to a holistic philosophy when considering all design.

FASHION: I also have a background in fashion design, where this theme is closely connected. All design—whether in fashion or architecture—can influence confidence and mental health. In fashion, the right clothing choices can empower and uplift, just as a well-designed space can inspire comfort and well-being. Both fields emphasize creating environments, wearable or built, that enhance how people feel and interact with the world.

St. Edward's University Student hall project in Austin Texas. Designed by Alejandro Aravena.