los angeles CALIFORNIA

University of Southern California
critic: Alvin HUANG

suckerPUNCH: Describe your project.

Jae Jun LEE: Cities are more and more populated these days. . . .

With unfavorable traffic conditions, downtown Los Angeles has been followed this trend as well. There are more and more people try to live in downtown L.A. However, for single families, it is hesitated to move into the city, because it is hard to find the feeling of home and community from apartments and city. Current apartment is the most efficient residential typology that can contain numbers of people, but there is no room for neighbors to communicate and talk together. This type of efficiency but lack of humanity extends to the city grids as well. Parks and town squares in downtown Los Angeles do not allow people to gather and talk each other, since they are isolated as a block like an island. Maximum efficiency is not what city needs; something inefficient—but allows people to physically interact and share their thoughts and feelings—is what people need from the city.

Inefficiency for Better life is a new residential typology for single families and a new town square that desire to change the city into more lively and connected spaces for most of people. I began design by physically connecting Pershing Square to the city. Town Square, connected to the city, allows people to enter to Pershing Square. Pershing Square’s new park and gathering spaces, designed based on site analysis, extends to the residential tower. Extended green space creates circulation and semi-private gathering spaces inside the building. As a result, influx of the green space constantly interacts with residential units and creates a unique atmosphere.

Building type: High rise residential tower & Town Square
Location: Pershing Square, Los Angeles

sP: What or who influenced this project?
JJL: Apartments, DTLA, Nolli’s plan, the vertical city, inner park, and “green” architecture.

sP: What were you reading/listening to/watching while developing this project?
JJL: Reading: writings from Patrik Schumacher; Unpacking Duchamp by Judovitz. Listening to: Muse; Daft Punk; Pink Floyd; Bach; and Chopin. Watching a documentary about Rolls Royce.

sP: Whose work is currently on your radar?
JJL: Herzog & de Meuron, UNStudio, Jean Nouvel, COOP HIMMELB(L)AU, Asymptote, and Zaha Hadid.

Additional credits or links:
Alvin Huang

[cargocollective.com/jaejunle]