ANDREA SÁENZ BARELA

Verdant Laboratory
Part science lab, part art installation





On View
June 12-August 22, 2025
Architecture Center Houston

Deliverables
Identity system
Exhibition design
Marketing materials

Sponsors
The City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance
REES
CORT
ASLA Texas, H/GC Section
Texas Parks & Wildlife

Articles
Houstonia

Verdant Laboratory tells the story of Houston’s wild and often overlooked landscapes. Through large-scale mixed-media drawings, sculptures, and a video projection, landscape architect Falon Mihalic explores the living systems that form Houston’s foundation. Houston is not just a city built on bayous—it is a bayou. Situated at the intersection of the Galveston Bay estuary and coastal prairie, Houston exists within a dynamic and powerful web of water, soil, and biodiversity. Verdant Laboratory invites visitors to reconsider the city’s terrain not as backdrop, but as a vibrant, evolving protagonist.

The primary challenge lay in developing an identity system that evoked Mihalic’s striking balance of organic forms and bold materials without overworking the visuals. Typography played a crucial role, with ABC Camera used throughout the project. The light traps, or holes, in the typeface are reminiscent of molecular forms. Color is employed throughout to anchor the work.

Promotional graphic for social media.

Falon’s Cabinet of Curiousity



Promotional graphics for social media.



Tropicalization



Reference Material for Window Display






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Updated 24.10.31