M.Arch studio fall 2025 / Kent State University
Professor: Taraneh Meshkani
Located in Skid Row, Los Angeles, this project reimagines transitional housing for artists and musicians experiencing homelessness as a place for living, creating, and participating in the cultural life of the city. Housing is integrated with studios, galleries, two performance venues, and shared spaces that allow residents to create, exhibit, perform, and collaborate while maintaining privacy and autonomy. Public programs invite the surrounding community into the project, using art as a point of connection that challenges the separation and stigma often associated with homelessness.
Existing vacant structures are adapted and connected through new interventions, extending their useful life while reducing demolition and replacement construction. Shaded circulation, daylight-oriented spaces, and open-air communal areas further respond to the Southern California climate. At the boundary of Skid Row and the Arts District, the project proposes porosity without erasure - welcoming the city in while remaining fundamentally centered on its residents.