Michael ZepedaDesign Director
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Architecture / Digital Experiences / Immersive Environments

Georgetown University — Walsh School of Foreign Service

Washington, D.C.2026 · Competition win / phased implementation

A vision for the Intercultural Center that makes the School of Foreign Service’s global mission visible through shared learning spaces, digital storytelling, and architectural interventions.

My contribution

Working within Yann Weymouth’s overall design direction, I led key elements of the design vision, experiential strategy, storytelling, and technology integration for PBK’s winning proposal.

How can global affairs become an immersive learning experience?

Opening the atrium

Existing

Existing Georgetown atrium with white balconies and brick floor.
Existing condition before the proposed renovation.

Proposed / Rendering

Concept view through the multilevel atrium with informal seating and a central stair.
The atrium as a place for connection and exchange.

Stair as a gathering place

Existing

Existing enclosed brick stair at Georgetown.
Existing condition before the proposed renovation.

Proposed / Rendering

Rendering of a broad timber learning stair beside a digital screen.
Learning-stair design: media integrated into the architectural composition.

A symbol of global connection

A suspended digital globe and central spiral stair make the school’s relationship to the world visible. Media becomes an architectural element and a platform for geography, global events, and institutional storytelling.

Concept view through the multilevel atrium with informal seating and a central stair.
The atrium as a place for connection and exchange.

Circulation as shared learning

The atrium is reimagined as a place to gather. An early learning-stair phase connects informal teaching, digital content, and spontaneous exchange to the wider vision.

Rendering of a broad timber learning stair beside a digital screen.
Learning-stair design: media integrated into the architectural composition.

A room shaped by a curriculum

The proposed Global Vision Dome responds to Maps of the Modern World. Geography and storytelling unfold at an immersive scale, linking the room’s design to the school’s academic mission.

Concept rendering of students in a domed learning space with a projected image of Earth.
Global Vision Dome proposal, developed around a geography curriculum.

Collaboration & credits

  • Practice: PBK.
  • Overall design direction: Yann Weymouth.

Next project

Tor Legacy Center