Terminal Terrain

This studio serves as the conclusion of the core sequence within UCLA AUD design curriculum. To help students transition towards Advanced Topic Studios and Research Studios in their thrid and final year of the degree, the class is constructed around an umbrella topic shared by four discrete studio sections, each foregrounding its focus around specific topical approaches and techniques. By sharing a common site and program but doing so with particular slants provokes expansive discussions across the four studios.

The studio looks at the large area of the Channel Islands Harbor in Oxnard, California. Specifically, the studio project is located where the Ferry Terminal is currently situated, adjacent to the Marina, parking lots and shopping promenade, completing an important urban part of the city, already much consolidated. The site, which shape follows the edges of the city fabric and the coast, comprises more space than it’s actually needed for the building itself. This excess, aims to account for much needed open public space in and around public buildings. This is an exceptional case to make and expand the city’s urban fabric with remarkable architectural objects.