El Paso, Texas

El Intercambio was designed to forge a physical and symbolic connection between two new buildings at the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine at Texas Tech University.

Working closely with landscape architect Jason Hodges, Kirkland crafted a six-foot-wide, 200-foot-long pathway of granite pavers engraved with images of life. The path is bordered by a one-foot-wide concrete band, cast in place.

Hodges designed a series of four garden “rooms,” and Kirkland created a granite sculpture for each. The largest of these, Portal, references details of the school’s main entryway. In outline, the sculpture of striped Imperial red and Kashmir gold granite recalls Spanish Mission architecture, while cut through it is the profile of a human head.

Mind, crafted from the same two types of granite, is the positive head cut out of Portal. It is engraved with a floral pattern, recalling the region’s Hispanic culture; within the design are hidden tools of daily life.

On either end of the pathway are Absolute black granite keyholes with windows in the shape of keys. The surfaces are engraved with images from science, such as human organs, molecular models, and mathematic equations.

Images 1, 3, 6, and 7: photography by Craig Collins.

Materials & Dimensions

Three hundred pavers: engraved imperial red granite, 2' x 2'. Four sculptures: absolute black, imperial red, and Kashmir gold granite, up to 15'.