USC Architecture XpoInstructor: Sascha Delz
In Altadena, where homes meet the foothills, wildfires are no longer a distant threat—they are a devastating reality. In the wake of the Eaton Fire, which scorched large swaths of the community, Nature’s Whisper reframes fire not as an end, but as a beginning and a call for exploring new, alternative approaches to recovery. The project begins […]
For many marginalized individuals and communities, informal practices are an essential means of gaining access to services and spaces that are otherwise unavailable or unaffordable. This is especially true for shelter and housing, where squatting often serves as a last resort. While property owners have broad legal means to evict squatters, squatters also hold limited […]
Building with Bricolage reimagines adaptive reuse as an active, regenerative process – one that is as much about creative material transformation as it is about collective social empowerment. This thesis proposes a framework where architecture is built not from scratch, but from what already exists: disassembled, deteriorated, and often overlooked structures are carefully taken apart, […]
U.S. cities are grappling with a post-pandemic paradox: while 20% of commercial spaces—including office buildings—sit vacant, the country faces a shortfall of 7.3 million affordable homes, leaving just 34 available units per 100 low-income households. Commercial to Community addresses this disconnect by proposing a mutually reinforcing solution: transforming underused commercial assets into frameworks for non-speculative housing […]
Inside Out / Outside In explores gentle suburban densification through the creation of collective hybrids—blending cooperative ownership, live-work arrangements, and flexible indoor-outdoor typologies. Anchored in a co-operative model, these hybrids promote adaptable, community-centered, and long-term affordable housing solutions. True to its title, Inside Out / Outside In addresses both spatial and organizational dynamics. Spatially, it rethinks the boundaries […]
Frameworks to Freedom builds on John Habraken’s Open Building concept, which proposes a dynamic relationship between a fixed structural framework and adaptable infill, striking a balance between architectural control and resident-led customization. While Habraken’s vision typically applies to newly constructed frameworks, this project explores how existing housing typologies can be transformed to enable similar freedoms. Focusing on the […]
Community Health Housing explores how architectural design and collaborative ownership models can actively support mental well-being. Rather than responding solely to acute mental health crises, it seeks to create preventive living environments that address everyday mental stressors—such as social isolation, eviction anxiety, and challenging family dynamics—before they escalate. Situated next to White Memorial Hospital in Boyle […]
The typical residential subdivisions that define much of the housing supply in the U.S. have drawn persistent criticism from architects and planners. Suburban sprawl has contributed to car dependency, social atomization, and an affordability crisis fueled by land speculation and debt. While urban co-ops and rural utopian communities have attempted to address some of these […]
Access to stable housing is essential for individuals living with mental illness and manifests in various forms—from clinical institutions to supervised group homes to supportive housing—each presenting distinct challenges, including affordability, autonomy, physical needs, and freedom from discrimination. Responding to the diminishing availability of affordable housing in Los Angeles, The Head & The Heart proposes a long-term, […]
Since humans first built shelters, architectural form has been dictated by material availability—a fundamental principle that modern construction practices have abandoned through unsustainable extraction cycles. This thesis reclaims and reframes this logic for contemporary practice through a comprehensive urban mining framework that reconceptualizes industrial waste as collective architectural resources. Using decommissioned wind turbines as a […]