current city blocks
GROWING LOS ANGELES
A critique on the lack of flora in downtown Los Angeles, Growing LA was a proposal to simultaneously grow the city and its vegetation in this studio at SCI-Arc. Through research, data, maps, and parametric visualization, a city park and development were produced focusing on empty lots and dilapidated low rise buildings as opportunities for growth and revitalization.
INITIAL RESEARCH
Surveying and photographing the various downtown districts quickly highlighted areas in need of new infrastructure and beautification. Districts with low rise buildings tended to have less vegetation while areas of affluence and high rises not only had more vegetation, but also larger species.
Retracing the photographs and their location in downtown helped create a map of the existing amount of vegetation in each district.
With the vegetation mapped, I began to note empty lots and dilapidated low rise buildings. Aiming to capitalize on these neglected sites as opportunities for growth and revitalization, they became the foundation for the proposed park and city.
empty or abandoned sites
empty or abandoned sites and adjacent block
connection of empty sites
empty sites infilled with park
expanded park
CITY GROWTH
To grow the city proportionately, the findings from the existing conditions were inverted, proposing high rise developments and associated green spaces where current vacant spaces or dilapidated low rise buildings stood and little or no change in areas of existing high rise developments.
