This project envisions a 100-unit residential complex situated along the 101 Freeway in Downtown Los Angeles, addressing the challenges of urban noise, density, and disconnection. The design reimagines apartment living as a catalyst for community rather than isolation, using architecture to foster interaction and shared experience within a chaotic urban context.
Inspired by the idea of community as connection, the project organizes its units and amenities around a central open-air corridor, an elevated linear park that weaves through the building. This “community spine” integrates shared programs such as outdoor gym, bike/scooter lane, transformative sports court, and recreational spaces, encouraging spontaneous encounters and collective activity.
Unit balconies are oriented toward one another to promote visual connection and neighborly engagement, while outdoor amenities extend the building’s social network into the surrounding urban fabric. The result is a living environment that transforms a freeway-adjacent site into a vibrant, socially driven urban refuge, redefining what it means to live collectively in the heart of Los Angeles.
Location : Los Angeles, California
Instructor : Eric Olsen
Software : Rhinoceros, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, Enscape
