Resonat Elementary

Inspired by the experiences and geometry of Porto University of Architecture, "Resonat Elementary" is a ground-up redesign of Boyle Height's Bridge Street Elementary. The design, as its portmanteau name suggests, heavily revolves around nature and audio resonance: taking motive to combat with the concrete landscape of LA, Resonat is composed of several distributed buildings of geometric mass whose individual identities and physical intimacy are connected by a cluster of suspended catwalks. The catwalks band from tower to tower like a life form spreading its tentacles, the system of which feeds into a larger one which attempts to reimagine the verticality of school buildings: rather than an environment which is built with the ground as the foundation, the catwalks hang in suspension from the matriarchal green roof above, composed of a series of trusses, a wooden lattice, and a fluffy volume of spectral flowers above, establishing a roof that further imbues nature into the atmosphere, creates a tree canopy-like filtration of light, and fantasy experience throughout the year as flowers rain down for the kids to admire and collect. Playfulness continues with playground equipment also suspended from the green roof, an assortment of earth-inspired materials – like clover roofs, fractured warm-white walls, fritted glass, oak wood, and flowing deep blue metal – scattered oculi that create porous walls to flood rooms with patterned light, comfort furniture, and a teaching pedagogy that cultures kids to experiment with sound and plants

SCI-Arc Design Studio 2A / December 2022 / with Professor Emily Mohr