Pershing Square Redesign

Project Overview:
The site of this project is Pershing Square of Los Angeles, California. Students are assigned to go to the site, take notes of all the aspects of the park (i.e. condition, temperature, demographics, location,) and redesign in a way which reinvigorates the park and the city. Students started off with making swatches which include categories such as jagged, porous, eroded, smooth, layered, etc. Students will experiment each swatches by creating a figure-ground drawing of each. These figure ground construct will eventually become the floor plan of the park. After substantial completion of the park redesign, students will then implement a cultural center in complement with the park. The goal of the design is to address and resolve issues that resides within the current Pershing Square

Concept and Design Intentions:
The concept of this design is to address the issue of the current park which includes its high temperature, lack of shadings, and activity. To reinvigorate the park, I implemented varieties of activity spaces such as a basketball court, sloped grassland, playground, and picnic area. To address the heat that lingers in the park, a huge pond is implemented so it's evaporative feature of the water can cool the surrounding air of the park. Pathways are also included on the pond to further adds on to the activity of the park, giving users a sense of "flowing with the water." The ponds are extended all the way, touching the "cultural center", to provide visual connection from the reflection of the water. Lastly, a large opaque roof runs over the cultural center as well as a portion of the pond to provide shading for the park while allowing visuals through the roof. This way, users are still able to look up at the magnificent view of the urban while receiving shadings.