Community
Oakwood, Venice, Los Angeles
25,000 sq ft
2021
“Convergent Boundary” exploits its location between city and park to turn the historic class and race barriers of Oakwood on their head. The proposed community center is an extension of the park, both conceptually and literally. A community garden rolls over the building, creating a connective public space reminiscent of the natural landscapes of Southern California. The formal, spatial, and material results are fully exploited to produce an intensely community-oriented space.
The design of the building is driven by the motivation to connect the park on one side to the street on the other, and to invite the community to engage with the site and with each other. The sweeping form is as inviting as it is expressive. Wood and concrete detailing further integrate natural materials and forms into the site. And behind all that the precast concrete and steel structure that underpins the fluid form of the building is subtly, but honestly expressed.
As part of an integrative studio, this project delves into every aspect of design. Accessibility and code constraints, sustainability, structure, and material expression are treated as essential to the development of the design concept. As such, environmental, structural, and accessibility criteria are articulated in all elements of the design and cohesively integrated.
The project proposes a space that fully embraces its position between city and park, architecture and landscape, urban and natural. It is an exercise in embracing the multitude of possibilities present in Oakwood. The community garden serves both as an extension and enhancement of the park and provides an additional amenity for a diverse community, while as an architectural gesture it harkens back to Los Angeles’ agricultural history and creates new green space.
