PROTO-PLANS

Location: Los Angeles, CA
Type: Retail – Adaptive Reuse
Status: Research & Concept Design, ongoing
Size: 9,650 SF
Team: Miroslava Brooks, Daniel Markiewicz, Christopher Pin, Marjorie Tello-Wong

Initially a simple desire to test the readily available neural network platforms within the architectural workflow and production, this self-initiated design research offered new explorations into our long-standing interest in the architectural plan and jumpstarted two upcoming retail projects for FORMA.

It is commonplace for architects to look to their previous work when developing concepts for new projects. Rejected ideas, unbuilt designs, and failed project-starts all provide fertile ground for concept-mining when brainstorming for a new venture. However, rather than simply “reuse” old concepts, Proto-Plans aims to “recycle” them: stripping them, mixing them, analyzing them and reworking them into entirely new creations. Beginning with two previous FORMA plans—for a bathhouse and a library—this project proposed two new plan-driven projects for contemporary retail spaces. More coming soon.