This project investigates the relationship between film, architecture, and urban experience by transforming a familiar Los Angeles site into a cinematic landscape. Drawing inspiration from films that use real locations to construct layered narratives, the design reimagines El Pueblo Parking Lot 4 and Yaanga Park, adjacent to the 101 Freeway on-ramp, as a hybrid public park and film campus.
The proposal introduces a subterranean film institute beneath the park’s surface, housing classrooms, studios, and production spaces that open to sunken courtyards. Above, a continuous public landscape unfolds a network of activities, pathways, and gathering areas that can double as active film sets. The park not only revitalizes an underused lot but also blurs the boundaries between performance and everyday life, allowing the surrounding context of downtown Los Angeles to become part of each cinematic frame.
As scenes are filmed, the existing cityscape, from historic facades to freeway infrastructure, becomes an unintentional yet integral backdrop, embedding authenticity into every shot. Simultaneously, for drivers on the adjacent 101 freeway, the new park turns the commute into a movie-like experience. The result is an architectural narrative that captures the spirit of Los Angeles itself , a city where the line between film and reality constantly dissolves.
Location : Placita Olvera, Los Angeles, California
Instructor : Aaron Gensler, Parsa Raye
Software : Rhinoceros, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, Enscape
ART STORYBOARD 1
ART STORYBOARD 2
