LIVING IN AN ANIMATED ENVELOPE

This cooperative housing project mirrors its context through the exhibition of an L shape with a separate corner building that is a reflection of Leimert Park’s predominantly curved corner typologies. It performs to fit the needs of its surroundings by addressing various community and environmental conditions through its formal structure and social programs. Creating a sequence of private to public space from the L-Shape inward towards the corner building, the corner building contrasts from the L shape in that it fully contains community programs, including a café, food pantry, community kitchen, and workshop computer lounge. The primary architectural feature of this project is the building’s owner-controlled operable envelope system. By using sustainable and recycled expanded metal mesh as the exterior, it allows the occupant to adjust, at will, the screens of the building’s envelope to provide enclosure, enhance privacy, and deflect unwanted solar gains as louvers. This creates a condition for residents to actively engage with the building, allowing the envelope to essentially be redesigned “live” from within the space, while further amplifying the curved corner typologies.