dingbat 2.0
As part of the LA Forum and DesignLab's 2011 call for ideas competition, this proposal for Palms' cheaply constructed, mid-20th century corporate goods (housing in this case) doesn’t seek to update or repair the reputation of the dingbat. Instead it seeks to explore the externalized surface that thinly veils the highly internalized core, while reaching out to the so-close-yet-so-far public space just outside on the sidewalk and street.
On the surface of dingbat buildings we find filigreed ironwork, exotic names in plywood cut fonts, and vast stuccoed surfaces. The empty obsolescence at the level of the street face is ripe for architectural intervention. In the working class neighborhood of Palms, the need for a public/ private intervention and new forms of blurred occupation in these areas especially required. Without the color of West Hollywood, or posh, beachside vibe of Santa Monica, the coalescing of public tenure and strangely orchestrated spatial habitations is particularly tricky. Palms could use a new hybrid typology, and we‘re here to deliver. Through a narrative, this entry speaks to the space in between as a more desirable one to our users than they could imagine and how such a parasitic world of multiple uses might be constructed.
WGA's competition entry was published in the book, "Dingbat 2.0: The Iconic Los Angeles Apartment as Projection of a Metropolis"
Unbuilt
Location: Palms, CA, US (2009)
