USC Architecture Xpo
by Mari Hupiu
Apartments For Life a lifelong housing project located at the intersection of 41st and South Compton Ave CA. The project integrates the principles of wellness, recreation, and health into one program that provides apartments for life, a memory care housing cluster, and a community clinic.
by Marc Metry
Casa del Marvelosa is a lifelong housing unit that strives to provide more than the stereotypical aging community standards. As the name suggests, a stay here intends to be more than ordinary in thanks to the features that set this community apart. CDM’s residential clusters are inspired by Barcelona’s city original city design of creating meeting points within blocks and pathways through instead of around. The design also utilizes the vast site in order to create a grand park alcove by the residential units and the outpatient building. The dining hall is situated in a central location with views to the park. Lighting was especially considered the design with the roofs curved outward with a lighting shelf toward the south in order to maximize daylight. Most prominently, CM is home to a curved walkway that connects the third floor of each housing unit to a dynamic experience with various points of interest. Palm trees and cactuses can be found throughout the complex with addition to whatever the residents choose to grow in the 24 planters adjacent to the units.
by Brandon Chin, MArch ’23
The site of 41st street and Compton Avenue presents several thought-provoking characteristics and urban typologies that make it unique in the city of Los Angeles. The nearly 200,000 square foot lot is surrounded by various urban elements – recreational facilities, institutions, commercial, retail, and housing for a wide range of demographics. Leveraging the power of architecture, it’s imperative to utilize design and urban development to not hinder, but rather, build off of and enhance an already culturally rich neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles.
With a program supporting three main functions of an outpatient clinic, along with lifelong and memory care housing for the elderly, it is significant to continue testing Ulrich’s theory by focusing on four main topics: sense of control, social support, movement for exercise, and using nature as a distraction to help improve the quality of life of those that need it most.
With that, the scheme and program included in today’s scheme challenges and relies on the already existing typologies of 41st street and Compton Avenue in north, east, south, and west cardinal directions and investigates the spatial relationships between masses. These gesture are to include being between spaces, being above spaces, being immersed in spaces, and being protected by spaces – all while using biophilic strategies to influence the directions of the built environment.
by Wenyue(Ella) Qiu, B. Arch ’24
Locating around the public infrastructures in Nevin, this project aims to attracted surrounding residents on site to create a sense of community and unite the neighborhood through providing multiple indoor and outdoor communal spaces.
Particularly among the north-south direction on site, this project provide an equal access to exterior spaces for all user groups including patients, medical workers, residents, and staffs. A series of trapezoid shape gardens framed by buildings creates multiple levels of publicity and security in order to support customized requirements for each user group.
by Michelle Ramirez, B. Arch ’24
There is many people living in this community that should be offered a place to socialize, learn, and stay healthy. Healthcare, in general, is hard to find very close to home and there is not many green spaces nearby for the children. The plaza gives this community an outpatient clinic that is providing behavioral health, general health, and physical health. The plaza in the middle gives the community a space to wait for appointments, spend time with loved ones, exercise, or spend time at lunch. It also provides the community with retail good like a café, store, pharmacy, grocer, office space, and hair salon. In total, it will house 60 single residents and 20 units for pairs that are elderly. It also has a memory care facility in a more private location to take care of those with memory diagnosis. The public, clients, and residents are all encouraged to use this plaza to create multi-generation socialization.
by Yiting Chen
A lack of open green space in the community is observed during site analysis, from which an idea of a community oriented open space is developed. In this project, the lifelong housing and outpatient clinic components are framing a central garden area, a place where residents, patients, staffs and people from the neighborhood can meet, socialize and be immersed in nature. It aims to create a nurturing and healing environment for people. Both in the outpatient clinic building and the housing building, people are closely connected to the outdoor, benefiting from the outdoor waiting area, patio, rooftop garden, or the interchangeability of an indoor or outdoor living room.
by Fangzhou Ni
Sandwiched in between Thomas Jefferson High School and Ross Synder Recreation Center, this elder- and patient-oriented campus is confronting two of the most energetic youth groups. The building complexes standing in the middle compose a slender, linear architectural sequence along the long side that leaves sufficient open space on both edges to where the high school and recreation center are directly connected. In this case, the two major clienteles – patients and elder residents, although in a negative way, have more potential to interact with and benefit from energy and vitality of the youth.
Appealing stairs/elevators utilized respectively in the four key building projects – Outpatient Clinic, Physical Therapy Center, Lifelong Housing and Memory Care Clusters – build a subtle connection among them. The color use of these stairs/elevators has its intrinsic rationale, i.e., calmness of azure blue for the clinic, vigor of tuscany yellow for the housing, and nostalgia of magenta pink for the memory care clusters. Through the Physical Therapy Center and the permeable parking space, the building entities and the hardscape space are more naturally integrated into the site and landscape. At the same time, pilotis with lifted floors create a more transparent ground level, which contributes to the interpenetration between open spaces on the both edges, making more direct communication and interaction with the energetic neighborhood on the site.
Through these strategies, this proposal aims at conveying this active and optimistic life value to its main clients,
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light…
by Mengrui Zhang
Hans Christian Andersen famously said: “Just living is not enough. One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.” The project intends to create a feeling of nature by blending indoor and outdoor spaces with the landscape. A large circular flow ties all the buildings and landscapes together. People walk, stay, watch and fully feel the healing power of nature in it as if they are on a healing journey. In addition, wood was used as a natural material for the entirety of the building’s design since it satisfies both functional and biophilic requirements, and the warm colors enliven the senior community.
The project also benefits the community. Public amenities including classrooms and library are available at the community activity center close to Compton Ave for use by the entire neighborhood. The retail space next to E 41st St, which mirrors the commercial district across the street, is convenient for everyone. Finally, a vibrant campus can bring peace and happiness to seniors and can energize the entire community.
by Yuexi Chen
Zig-Zag Healthcare Haven is a mixed-use healthcare setting with Outpatient Clinic, Lifelong Housing, and Memory Care Cluster. The community-oriented healthcare center is a haven of calm in the busy city. Not only for human beings, three gardens inside the site create a haven for local species, like insects, birds and butterflies. Overall, Zig-Zag Healthcare Haven is protected, peaceful, and conducive to rest or enjoyment.
by Baoqi Xiao