The Green Crevice
A Highlight in Art District
Fall 2017
5th Year Architecture Studio,University of Southern California
Type: Architecture, Office
Location: Art District, Los Angeles
Instructor: Eric Nulman
Individual Work
Art District, Downtown Los Angeles, is on the edge of rapid transformation. As an attraction for both tourists and local residents, the area continues to bring more diversity and dynamism into the community. However, most projects involve only the retrofit of interior space in single architecture, Art District, as a whole, still lacks an iconic exterior place.
Located at the critical corner of Art District, the project concerns the rapid increase of needs for both creative office space and a local highlight. To address above issues, the proposal is composed of a tower and a plaza. With simple formal language, the tower intends to create an interior garden. The plaza serves as the interface between landscape, architecture and urban environment. The tower itself is also a reversion of natural space.
Site Condition Analysis
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The structure system is heavy timber beam and joist system. As two towers have separate framing grid, they are bonded by the tilted atrium in the middle. The atrium segregates each floor differently, with vegetations as partitions.
The central crack serves as common space connecting two separate towers, which is partitioned out by ‘porous’ green wall allowing people to pass.Both single-height and double-height space is designed to accommodate needs for various types of office space
With the acknowledgment that currently the place lacks a highlighted open space, the entrance plaza utilizes transformed landscape and green space, intending to integrate urbanistic feature of the vibrant community. Its function is highly responsive to the dynamism of Art District.
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The central crack serves as common space connecting two separate towers, which is partitioned out by ‘porous’ green wall allowing people to pass.Both single-height and double-height space is designed to accommodate needs for various types of office space
With the acknowledgment that currently the place lacks a highlighted open space, the entrance plaza utilizes transformed landscape and green space, intending to integrate urbanistic feature of the vibrant community. Its function is highly responsive to the dynamism of Art District.
Heavy Timber Construction
a: As required to adopt heavy timber construction as structural system, the splited monolithic form works as two towers, structurally supported by beams and joists running in different direction, considering the structural feature of the material.
b/c: The offset core contains all facility, including egress, accessibility, and mechanics
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a: As required to adopt heavy timber construction as structural system, the splited monolithic form works as two towers, structurally supported by beams and joists running in different direction, considering the structural feature of the material.
b/c: The offset core contains all facility, including egress, accessibility, and mechanics
Kari Gao | New York | 2020