Typological Healing

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.