Natalia Beard

Much of Natalia’s work focuses on elevating cultural significance of places through interpretive power of art and its creative integration in designed landscapes. Be it an urban, industrial, or post-industrial context, she prioritizes maximizing the effect of design by grounding it in research of cultural and historical heritage of sites and communities that inhabit them. Working in metropolitan regions in the US, she has developed multiple approaches to incorporating art and cultural expression in large infrastructural environments. She helped re-envision the Atlanta Connector downtown freeway as a linear gallery displaying original art within the busy transportation corridor, and directed award-winning installations along Houston highways. She assists her clients in re-imagining mono-functional urban landscapes as a more integrated part of the city that is beautiful, green, and accessible to the public. Her work on Avenida Houston plaza helped re-brand the city of Houston as an international cultural destination from solely a business hub, while deriving unique iconography and design language from its industrial roots and cosmopolitan values.

Natalia’s work has been recognized with several national awards and featured in design publications. She spoke at national and state conferences on the topic of “Art and Infrastructure” and taught architectural design studios at the University of Texas in San Antonio and Louisiana State University taking on the patterns of urbanization in environmentally vulnerable landscapes of the Gulf Coast.