Remixed Vernacular

This project looks in depth into the surrounding residential site relationships and how a reinterpretation of the Oakwood Recreation Center can be integrated into the community to bring the residents closer together. The form is made up of a collection of typological house forms of varying scale, arranged to form a village courtyard within the space while camouflaging into the surrounding residential site. Based on a recreation of the original housing plot-lines, each housing space contains its own program but also shares its spaces through connections in adjacency. The arrangement of the “houses” are centered around the largest program space, the maker-space, which is intended to create a campus-like environment to expand opportunities for learning and creativity of Venice’s art. To emphasize traditional residential house construction, the structure is partially exposed, revealing a light gauge stud and joist system; meanwhile, the larger spaces utilize a simple column and beam system, emphasizing scale. The surface cladding of the project is created based on a translation of the silhouettes and materiality of the surrounding residential buildings projected onto the surfaces of the project, creating intersections of familiar and new architectural motifs. The end result takes influence from Frank Gehry’s Residence in its mixture of experimental LA School material and traditional bungalow and craftsman style architecture.