Above: Areas such as program, circulation, unit Placement, site lines, production process, etc. codified and mapped onto the existing site in Alameda.


An aerial view of the site, located North of 1st St. Alameda, Downtown Los Angeles

The goal of this project was to design a factory that produced mass-customizable building units that could be incorporated into the urban fabric of the historic Alameda Corridor of Downtown, Los Angeles. Alameda, which originally developed as the shipping district for central Los Angeles has been changed by the recent migration of young professionals back downtown. Through minimal changes the old industrial buildings are being converted to lofts. The ‘Interface’ building system is a proposal to develop a factory that can produce mass-customizable units that will renovate the industrial buildings through minimal approaches that are specific to the neighborhood of Alameda. The factory became the testing grounds in which the main module would be designed and was developed concurrently with the design of the module.


Overall site plan with modules in place.

The chosen location of the factory was a group of buildings on the north side of the First St. bridge. In theme with the shifting boundaries of Alameda, the site boundaries cut through existing parcels to incorporate as many unique elements of Alameda as possible; a defunct rail track, a bank of the LA river, a shipping warehouse, a converted loft, a private street, an abandoned building, a bridge. The necessary programmatic functions and placement of the modules were then mapped onto the site to provide for the maximum number of spatial variations to test the module.  


Details of Modules 5, 6 & 1


Module 3 installed in nearby buildings of Alameda


Section through the production facility

Standard Unit Development


Developement of the Module as it adapts to fit the different site conditions

The module started as a basic moment frame structure dimensioned to fit the standard shipping bed of a truck. Through being designed to the different conditions of the site, the module was adapted to take additional structural load, incorporate unique interfacing elements and work with existing infrastructure.


Module 7 in production


Public entrance to production facility: Looking up at module 7 from below


Section through Module 7: Canilever Interface condition

Design Process


Relational and Interface diagrams used to categorize the modules.

The possible spatial and relational conditions were first mapped out so that the modules could be tested systematically throughout the variations on the site. In order to establish a set of foundational guidelines, two manuals were created. The first manual explored the intangibles through a set of atmospheric illustrations which became the initial architectural inspiration for each condition. An old engineering handbook acted as a conceptual site in which a basic square was placed and designed to work with the existing diagrams of the book. The second manual was an archive local conditions divided into five categories that formed the design logic of the interface system.    

Pre-production Material: Interface studies using an old engineering manual as a testing ground

Building Logics of Alameda

	Being one of the older neighborhoods of downtown Los Angeles, the buildings outlines of Alameda have been altered throughout the years. Remnants of the changes can be seen on the building envelopes.
	The Alameda corridor that was built at the industrial scale has been transformed to accomodate the human scale. For example. doorways that once were for trucks now have been renovated to suit residents.
	Alameda was orginally built using masonry load bearing walls which must be reworked through infill and subtraction to meet new needs. New uses of vacant spaces such as the enclosed spaces under bridges can also be seen as a form of tactical infill.
	The shift in the occupation of buildings in Alameda from industrial use to housing has brought about the need to apply new infrastructure as well as obsolete old ones. These remains and additions hint at what once was and still is hidden inside.
	Alameda, having developed as a shipping hub during the early years of Los Angeles is governed by horizontal strata such as the 4 foot high loading platforms for the rail and trucking industry. These along with building height restrictions form invisible datums that organize the neighborhood.