— A Double—Frontage Collective in LA

Fall 2020, Harvard GSD, Instructor: Job Floris

In Chinatown, Los Angeles, on an ordinary street, stands 5 buildings—pink, orange, yellow, blue, and green—between two white walls. The pink and green buildings have a mask onto opposite streets, one white wall faces a city park, and the other white wall towards the neighboring buildings. This ribbon of buildings is punctured by a series of collective pocket gardens on either side of the through-block lobby. The edifice encloses 20 apartments for 20 families, as well as a shared room for drawing in the yellow and center-most building. A monumental skylight to the piecing blue, Los Angeles sky, illuminates the ascent into this shared room while spilling sunlight onto sculptures displayed throughout.