REASSESSING THE AMERICAN DREAM_ Daniela Marentes

REASSESSING THE AMERICAN DREAM ADDRESSING THE SUBURBS IN LOS ANGELES

DANIELA MARENTES PROFESSOR: JOHN SOUTHERN SPRING 2024 M.ARCH +3 UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

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What if…We begin to allow individuals to break zoning codes.

What if… The front yard no longer exists.

What if… The backyard no longer exists.

What if … The program is not a single family dwelling.

What if… A new layering of urbanization is built on the existing.

What could possibly be created?

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

BIBLIOGRAPHIC AL S TATEMENT . . . . .

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THESIS S TATEMENT . . . . . . . . . . .

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P RE CE D E N TS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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R E SE ARC H .

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ARCHIGRAM KISHO KUROKAWA

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SITUATIONIST INTERNATIONAL THE NAKED CITY PLAYTIME (1967) NEW BABYLON A SIMPLE HEART

PRECEDENT TRANSL ATION DRAWIN G . . . 20 SIT E / CON T E XT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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FERAL URBAN COMPOSITION . . . . . . . 28 T E N T H IN G S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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D E SIG N N O. 1 -3 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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1/2 MI. X 1/2 MI. BLOC K . . . . . . . . . 40 V IG N E T T E S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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B IB L IOG R APH Y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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BIBLIOGRAPHICAL STATEMENT

Daniela Marentes is a Mexican-American first generation student born in Los Angeles, California. Interested in buildings and how they are designed she decided to pursue architecture.

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THESIS STATEMENT

Urban sprawl in Los Angeles began to take shape in the early to mid-20th century, particularly after World War II. A post-war baby boom and urban housing shortage led to the development of the suburbs, thus shifting away from denser urban zoning practices toward a dispersed model of housing. This dispersed model, coupled with restrictive planning laws resulted in the clarification of both the urban and suburban landscapes.

In Los Angeles’ case, the need for future expansion has now been limited with the mass majority of single-family housing. and as the future population begins to grow, what exactly would happen to the way we see the suburbs. Recognizing that planning policy will never solve housing shortage, and that in order to survive, the modern metropolis must be remade. This project proposes a strategy of feral urbanism that will overwrite the low density city.

feral urbanism adj. a. unplanned development coexist in unexpected, often uncontrolled ways. b. rewilding of urban spaces.

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P R E C E D E N T 01 ARCHIGRAM

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Archigram was an avant-garde architectural group formed in the 1960s in london. The group was active from 1961-1974 and was known for its innovative and visionary approach to architecture, as well as its use of graphic design and pop culture elements. The members of Archigram were Peter Cook, Warren Chalk, Ron Herron, Dennis Crompton, Michael Webb, and David Greene.

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PLUG-IN CITY ARCHIGRAM

Archigram’s “plug-in city” was a visionary architectural concept developed in the 1960s. It was a response to the rapidly changing urban landscapes of the time and sought to create a flexible, adaptable, and mobile city. Consisting of modular prefabricated units that plug in and out of an existing building structure, and a constantly evolving city and constantly changes and upgrades. Anticipating an embarkment of technologies that could possibly be included into the city’s design.

Allowing for a more dynamic and responsive approach to urban development.

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PRECEDENT 02 K I S H O K U R O K AWA

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Kisho Kurokawa was a prominent Japanese architect and one of the founders of the metabolist movement in architecture. Born in Kanie,Aichi,Japan. Kurokawa played a significant role in shaping post-war Japanese architecture and gained international recognition for his innovative and futuristic designs.

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NAKAGIN CAPSULE TOWER K I S H O K U R O K AWA

The Nakagin Capsule Tower in Tokyo was completed in 1972. It is a pioneering example of modular architecture,featuring prefabricated capsules plugged into a central core. Each capsule was intended to be a self-contained living unit. While the nakagin capsule tower is a celebrated piece of architecture, it faced challenges over the years due to maintenance issues and the changing needs of residents.

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RESEARCH baby boom n. a. a temporary marked increase in the birth rate, especially the one following World War II.

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SITUATIONIST INTERNATIONAL

The Situationist International (SI) was a revolutionary and avant-garde political and artistic movement that emerged in the late 1950s and dissolved in 1972. It was formed by a group of European artists, intellectuals, and political theorists who sought to critique and challenge the alienation and commodification of everyday life in capitalist society. They developed the concept of “detournement” which involved subverting and reappropriating existing cultural elements for new. “Derive” a method of wandering through urban environments to break free from habitual thought patterns and experience the city in a new way.

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THE NAKED CITY THE SITUATIONIS T

Through a drawing of the city as a series of situations, “the naked city” was created as another way of viewing the city of paris. Created by Guy Debord and Asger Jorn, it served as a way to exemplify the surreal disorientation of their drifts by scattering bits of map. The bold red arrows are placed between the pieces of maps to show their route and show the city is brought together, but at the same time fractured. Debord had the belief that when people drift into the streets of the city,their concerns are put aside as they are drawn to particular areas or out off by others.

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PLAYTIME (1967)

JACQUES TATI

Playtime began production in 1964 and was completed in 1967, and can be viewed as a product of and a response to the politics of its historical moment. In this regard,Tati’s reaction against urbanisation and the outpacing of everyday life in France, and the seeming loss of individuality and freedom, manifests through an encounter with a complex play of characters and movements within the mise-en-scene.

As evidence in a 1958 interview ,tati lamented that in France, change was occurring too fast for ordinary people to keep up. The new world placed an emphasis upon the consumption of material goods and luxury,at the expense of artistry and individual expression,and that rapid urbanisation produced uniformity with little thought for lived experiences to the point that one could not tell an airport from a pharmacy or a grocery store anymore.

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NEW BABYLON CONSTANT

“ New Babylon” was envisioned as a radically different urban environment that would transcend the traditional notions of work, leisure, and living. Constant’s vision was influenced by the situationist critique of capitalism and the desire to create a society where creativity and play would replace labor. In the new Babylon constant, he proposed a city where people would be free from the constraints of traditional roles, and the urban environment would be a constantly evolving space shaped by the spontaneous activities of its inhabitants.

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A SIMPLE HEART

DOGMA PIERRE VITTORIO

A simple heart is a project for the European city. It consists of 22 inhabitable units,each located close to the railway network that serves the European north western metropolitan area. each unit established by closing an area of 800 x 800 meters of an existing tertiary district by means of an inhabitable wall. the section of the enclosing wall is 25 meters thick and 20 stories high and contains 860 hotel rooms, each measuring 19.20x2.60 meters to accommodate one or two people each.

Named after gustave flaubert’s short novel “un coeur simple”, in which the french writer celebrated the ardent integrity and naivety of the humble servant against self-referential sophistications of bourgeois mentality, the project ultimately celebrates the power of from in framing and defining space of existence against the fragmentation perpetrated by contemporary urbanisation.

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PRECEDENT TRANSLATION DRAWING suburb n. a. an outlying district of a city, especially a residential one.

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In the year 2050, cities are poised to undergo profound infrastructural transformations, propelled by technological innovation,and sustainability imperatives. These shifts will fundamentally reshape urban landscapes,and redefine infrastructure to effectively address the multifaceted challenges of the 21st century.Technology will play a role in facilitating the creation of intelligent and responsive urban cities. Architecture will evolve to building designed for flawless utilization of space and integrated smart systems. Sustainability imperatives will drive architectural innovation, causing cities to minimize sprawl, and use eco-friendly materials,and energy-efficient systems. Serving as a model of resource efficient and ecologically sustainable urban development.

As urbanization accelerates and climate change intensifies, cities will accommodate a growing global population while striving to reduce their environmental footprint. Due to impending environmental friction caused by global climate change, the future city will be one that is not only carbon neutral but is restructured through both technology and zoning regulations into a more condensed model of urbanism. This thesis aims to examine how technology and sustainability regulations will intersect to create a model of condensed urban cities in 2050, going beyond the boundaries of traditional urban development

Precedents: Archigram_Plug-in-city Kisho Kurokawa_ Nakagin Capsule Tower

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SITE/CONTEXT housing shortage n. a. a deficiency or lack in the number of houses needed to accommodate the population of an area.

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Los Angeles is a sprawling metropolis characterized by its decentralized urban composition. It consists of distinct neighborhoods and communities, each with its unique character. The city is marked by low-rise development, extensive freeway networks, and mixed-use areas blending residential, commercial, and industrial spaces. LA’s geography includes coastal areas, hills, and flatlands, with landmarks like the Los Angeles River. Its urban diversity reflects its multicultural population, making it a global city with a blend of suburban and urban elements.

The following drawing examines Los Angeles in multiple locations, Koreatown,Sunset Blvd, Downtown, Chinatown, Arts Districts, Little Tokyo. A study of their urban fabric is also studied to note the uses within a half mile radius. Noting the uses of dwelling space vs. non-dwelling spaces.

HARVARD BLVD.

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WILSHIRE BLVD

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OXFORD AVE.

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RA MP AR TB LV D.

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SUNSET BL VD.

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.25 mi. .50 mi.

1 mi.

1 mi.

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7TH ST.

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BRO AD WA Y

YAL ES

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.25 mi. .50 mi.

1 mi.

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INE

.25 mi. .50 mi.

1 mi.

.25 mi. .50 mi.

1 mi.

1 mi.

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TEMPLE ST.

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ALAMEDA ST.

CENTRAL AV E.

ARTS DISTRICT

5 mi. .50 mi.

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ST.

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FERAL URBAN COMPOSITION restrictive adj. a. imposing restrictions or limitations on someone’s activities or freedom. b. serving to specify the particular instance or instances being mentioned

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By using visionary work from architects in the 1920’s to present time, with a focus of creating a new urban fabric to an already existing area. I began to visualize how feral an urban fabric could become and how connections within themselves could begin to organize amongst each other. I began to ask myself how can Los Angeles’s fabric begin to change with a new layer being implemented in the existing.

What would the existing city fabric look like if another layer was implemented?

Would the city become feral?

Precedents: Archigram_Plug-in-City Kisho Kurokawa_ Agricultural City Kenzo Tange_ Tokyo Bay Project Constant_ New Babylon Le Courbiser_Plan Voisin Dogma_ A Simple Heart

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TEN THINGS expansion n. a. the action of becoming larger or more extensive. b. a thing formed by the enlargement, broadening, or development of something.

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The following “Ten Things” begin to idealize the concept of layering Le Courbusier’s Plan Voisin in Los Angeles to create a more structured fabric. Placing Plan Voisin in different typologies that Los Angeles, but focusing how this new fabric can be brought to a suburb.

The images showcase global large scaled cities, with suburbs in the early 1920’s, and how this idea of layering could begin to happen in the existing suburb fabric.

How can a new fabric be implemented in the suburbs?

What scale should the layering cover?

What can change if the zoning code changes?

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DESIGN NO. 1-30

The 30 designs on the right begin to challenge the zoning code in terms of height, proximity among the lot lines, as well as the designation of single-family homes to change.

The 30 designs are then placed into a half mile by half mile residential zoning area, to begin to populate the exsiting.

These 30 Designs can become: Apartment complexes

Shared spaces among the community Museums Grocery Stores Convenient Stores

Shared Front Sheds Plazas Retail stores Pharmacies Etc.

A study from a housing perspective ( if one person was limited to 250 sqft) the amount of people that could occupy said design is listed below from greater than 100 people, 60-100 people, and less than 60 people.

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34.00664, -118.31463

VIGNETTE VIGNETTE 1

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1

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VIGNETTE 3

VIGNETTE 2

DESIGN NO. 22

DESIGN NO. 10

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34.00796, -118.31594

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DESIGN NO. 04

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VIGNETTE 4

34.00838, -118.31506

VIGNETTE 5

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34.00753, -118.31403

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DESIGN NO. 14

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34.00978, -118.31261

DESIGN NO. 27

34.00931, -118.31099

VIGNETTE 6

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DESIGN NO. 19

BIBLIOGRAPHY 48

Koolhaas, R., & Obrist, H.-U. (2011). Project Japan: Metabolism talks. (K. Ota & J. Westcott, Eds.). TASCHEN. BEANLAND, CHRISTOPHER. Unbuilt Radical Visions of an Architectural Future That Never Arrived. BATSFORD LTD, 2021.

LIN, ZHONGJIE. “Nakagin Capsule Tower Revisiting the Future of the Recent Past.” Journal of Architectural Education (1984-), vol. 65, no. 1, 2011, pp.

13–32. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/41319216. Accessed 29 Oct. 2023.

Sadler, Simon. Archigram : Architecture Without Architecture, MIT Press, 2005. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/socal/ detail.action?docID=3338538.

Staib, Gerald, Dörrhöfer, Andreas and Rosenthal, Markus. Components and Systems: Modular Construction - Design, Structure, New Technologies, München: Birkhäuser, 2008. https://doi-org.libproxy1.usc.edu/10.11129/detail.9783034615662 Nyilas A. Beyond Utopia : Japanese Metabolism Architecture and the Birth of Mythopia. Routledge Ltd.; 2018.

Schaik M van., Máčel O. Exit Utopia : Architectural Provocations, 19561976. Prestel; 2005.

Gardini, Ashley. “Tearing down Nakagin Capsule Tower - JSTOR DAILY.” JSTOR Daily, daily.jstor.org/tearing-down-nakagin-capsule-tower/. Accessed 30 Oct. 2023.

Wang, Tian. “A Brief History of Metabolism in Architecture.” Architizer, 12 Apr. 2022, architizer.com/blog/inspiration/stories/history-of-metabolism/.

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DANIELA MARENTES PROFESSOR JOHN SOUTHERN

SPRING 2024 M.ARCH +3 UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA