Re-thinking the LA industrial vernacular and the long span tradition

This studio explored the disciplinary topic of contemporary vernacular while addressing the technical requirements of a comprehensive design project. Students examined a specific type of vernacular architecture, the LA industrial long span building, and proposed alternative (shed) tectonic systems: re-thinking the enclosure walls, long span structure, and roof membrane. With a project site situated in the South LA neighborhood of Leimert Park, an historically prominent African American community currently undergoing urban renewal and gentrification, students were challenged to consider and embrace the local while developing a comprehensive design project that synthesized site context, program (community center), tectonics, and environmental control systems. In revisiting the industrial vernacular in order to create a new local typology – a two story industrial shed – students became active (design) participants in a current discourse on the contemporary vernacular.