SCREENHOUSE
Prototype 1 reimagines what’s possible on LA’s overlooked city-owned lots.
Compact, efficient, and socially generous, the project offers a replicable model for affordable urban housing. Wit mix of affordable and market-rate units, it demonstrates how small infill sites can deliver equity, resilience, and architectural quality at scale.
A fire-retardant brick screen wraps the north and west façades, shielding the building from sun and fire exposure while defining a flexible framework. This screen allows units to be reconfigured over time, supporting changing needs and diverse ways of living.
Location: Los Angeles, US
Type: Competition entry
Program: Affortable housing
Size: 2,150 m2 / 22,600 ft2
Year: 2025
The ground floor hosts a café and coworking space, an “away from home” zone for work, connection, and street-level vibrancy. The back of the site features a planted courtyard, with the vertical core and circulation opening onto it. Access galleries on upper levels double as social thresholds and shared outdoor space.
More than housing, this is a framework for resilient community life.
The rooftop includes laundry, a shared kitchen, and community gardens, reinforcing social connection and sustainable habits. Units are compact but adaptable, made more livable by shared amenities throughout the building.
Durable, low-carbon materials; including brick, concrete, and timber ensure longevity, climate performance, and a soft aging over time. Drought-tolerant landscaping further strengthens ecological resilience.
Screenhouse 1 proposes a small but powerful shift: that even the most modest sites can become catalysts for neighborhood transformation. By doing more with less; and by designing for people, not just units the project offers a future-facing vision for LA’s housing landscape.
Ground level plan - admistration, storage and boh
Second level plan - guest accomodation and exterior terrace
Third level plan - administration living quarters
