Chung King Courtyard
Architecture Residential Los Angeles, California, United States Of America
23 Images
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1. Walk-Street View This project began with an existing two story mixed-use building on Chung King Rd, a quiet pedestrian walk street in Los Angeles’ Chinatown district, with a series of art galleries lining the ground floors. The 1,200 SF second floor of this building held two cramped one-bedroom apartments lacking air and light and suffering from stifling heat. 900 px 1200 px 980 KB Print - Low res only |
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2. Courtyard View - Closed The project addressed these issues as well as the need for outdoor living space in a dense urban environment through the introduction of a courtyard. The pivoting doors provide a continuous indoor-outdoor experience. 4096 px 2731 px 7 MB A4 print |
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3. Courtyard View - Open 4096 px 2731 px 8 MB A4 print |
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4. Section Diagram 1 The apartment takes advantage of the natural convection current which occurs as warm air rises from the street, up the stairs, and out through the courtyard. All of the interior rooms facing the courtyard are designed to encourage cross-ventilation, achieving natural passive cooling. 2667 px 2085 px 1 MB Print - Low res only |
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5. Section Diagram 2 The apartment takes advantage of the natural convection current which occurs as warm air rises from the street, up the stairs, and out through the courtyard. All of the interior rooms facing the courtyard are designed to encourage cross-ventilation, achieving natural passive cooling. 2667 px 2085 px 1 MB Print - Low res only |
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6. Living Room - Closed The living room, as experienced throughout the day with different configurations of the pivoting doors, maintains a strong connection to the exterior environment. 2048 px 1366 px 245 KB Print - Low res only |
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7. Living Room - Open The living room, as experienced throughout the day with different configurations of the pivoting doors, maintains a strong connection to the exterior environment. 2048 px 1366 px 245 KB Print - Low res only |
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8. Living Room - Open - Night The living room, as experienced throughout the day with different configurations of the pivoting doors, maintains a strong connection to the exterior environment. 2048 px 1366 px 255 KB Print - Low res only |
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9. Kitchen View The open kitchen flows continuously into the living areas. 2048 px 1366 px 217 KB Print - Low res only |
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10. Diagram 01 The diagrams delve into the design process of renovating the second floor of the building into a residence. The primary focus of the design was to create an indoor-outdoor living experience and was achieved through an outdoor courtyard in the center of the plan with pivoting doors and windows. 8800 px 6800 px 5 MB A3 print |
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11. Diagram 02 The diagrams delve into the design process of renovating the second floor of the building into a residence. The primary focus of the design was to create an indoor-outdoor living experience and was achieved through an outdoor courtyard in the center of the plan with pivoting doors and windows. 8800 px 6800 px 5 MB A3 print |
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12. Diagram 03 The diagrams delve into the design process of renovating the second floor of the building into a residence. The primary focus of the design was to create an indoor-outdoor living experience and was achieved through an outdoor courtyard in the center of the plan with pivoting doors and windows. 8800 px 6800 px 6 MB A3 print |
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13. Master Bedroom View The master bedroom is designed to take full advantage of the courtyard, in terms of light, air and experience. 2048 px 1366 px 278 KB Print - Low res only |
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14. Master Bathroom View The master bath takes maximum advantage of the private outdoor courtyard to provide an indoor-outdoor bathing experience. 2048 px 1366 px 312 KB Print - Low res only |
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15. Floor Plan 13600 px 8800 px 11 MB A3 print |
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18. 4096 px 2731 px 7 MB A4 print |
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21. 4096 px 2731 px 7 MB A4 print |
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22. 4096 px 2731 px 6 MB A4 print |
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Description
The long awaited return of residents to downtown Los Angeles presents three major challenges. One is to mitigate the excessive energy consumption required to stay cool in this sweltering urban environment. The second is to find a way to have outdoor space to enjoy the indoor-outdoor California lifestyle in a dense urban environment. And the third is to create the ability to live locally and reduce the use of the automobile in this high traffic environment. The Chung King Courtyard, recently completed by LOC Architects, solves all three challenges through the design of a courtyard apartment located on Chung King Road, a walk-street in the medium density, mixed-use environment of historic Chinatown, Los Angeles.
Questions and Answers
Who are the clients and what's interesting about them?
The clients were two young architects, both LA natives, having recently completed graduate school on the east coast. They decided to take on the project of creating a home for themselves in a challenging site with tight constraints, which is when they do their best work.
What was the brief?
The project brief was for two young architects to create an urban home and workplace for themselves in an existing building on a walk street in downtown Los Angeles. The existing building is a two story mixed use building with an art gallery downstairs, on a walk street with a community of galleries, and that had two small one bedroom apartments upstairs. While the building and location seemed to be an ideal fit for our young architects, combining the two apartments into one living and working space presented several challenges.
What were the solutions?
All three challenges were solved via the subtraction of small area from the footprint of the apartment to create an outdoor courtyard, open to the sky with plants and fresh air. By placing this courtyard at the center of the plan, all of the rooms of the apartment were provided with cross-ventilation, allowing them to stay cool even in the heat of the summer. The outdoor space this provided was programmed as a dining room, maximizing the utility of the small floor area.
What were the key challenges?
The challenges this project presented were numerous. First and foremost was to develop a strategy to cool the interior in this urban environment with little vegetation in a hot climate. The second was to find a way to include outdoor space as a part of the unit to enjoy the indoor-outdoor lifestyle of Southern California. The third was to find a way to achieve all of this in a highly compact footprint of 120 sm (1,200 sf).
Details
| Project size | 1200 ft2 |
| Site size | 1200 ft2 |
| Completion date | 2008 |
| Building levels | 2 |
Project team
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LOC Architects | Architect |