Artist Biography
Audrey López Normil holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Endicott College and is currently completing the First Professional Master of Arts in Interior Architecture. She brings 12 years of experience in project management at A&L Construction Corp., her family’s construction and general contracting company, where she also serves as an in-house designer. Her background bridges construction, operations, and design, shaping a practical approach grounded in coordination, budgeting, procurement, and execution, while remaining attentive to spatial quality and design intent.
Her design approach is informed by regional modernism, with an emphasis on climate responsiveness, material authenticity, and a strong sense of place. She is particularly drawn to work that balances cultural rootedness with clarity, warmth, and restraint. Through both practice and study, she approaches design by creating spaces that feel intentional, grounded, and contextually responsive.
Thesis Abstract
Selah Coast investigates how eco-boutique hospitality design in coastal Panama can integrate sustainability, cultural identity, and guest experience through a place-based approach. The project responds to tourism-driven pressure on land, water, and culture in Bocas del Toro and proposes an alternative to generic resort models through regional design guidelines that emphasize climate-responsive design, local material and craft expression, community connection, and memorable spatial experience. Guided by the concept of mangrove thresholds, the design uses shaded transitions, layered screening, filtered views, and porous spatial sequencing to create a hospitality experience that is restorative, culturally rooted, and specific to place.