Dezeen School Shows: a modular housing structure designed to adapt alongside growing families is among the projects from the University of Southern California.

Also featured is housing designed with a mass-timber structural system and a proposal for a mixed-use building that is aligned with community values.

University of Southern California

Institution: University of Southern California
School: School of Architecture
Courses: ARCH302 Housing on Crenshaw: The Design of Collective Form
Tutors: Warren Techentin, Sascha Delz, Hye-Young Chung, Eric Haas, Wes Jones and Kate Yeh Chiu

School statement:

"This project is centrally located between the historically and culturally rich Los Angeles neighbourhoods of Leimert Park, Crenshaw and Jefferson Park, and has deep roots in the city's Black communities.

"The development of this site has the potential to build on its urban cultural legacy of art galleries, cultural centres and churches to inform and support a new, vibrant centre for the expanded community.

"It is also at the centre of an area currently undergoing extensive new development along the Expo transit line, which has been (for the last ten years at least) catalytically altering each stop along through the city's planning strategy of Transit Oriented Development (TOD).

"For this exercise in the studio project, the students worked in teams. After each team established an urban strategy for the site, they were asked to drastically shift scales in their design exploration and focus their attention on the elements of scale in housing.

"Each student team designed a chunk of their building – at a large scale – which informed the granular scale of their building: how it is made, how it reacts to the site, and to project what the future life of their building might be like."

Architectural Chunk by Valerie Gahman Vergara and Sharlette Sek

"This project is rooted in the vibrant community of Crenshaw, using architecture as a platform for cultural revival and environmental resilience.

"The living wall and vertical gardens directly confront the neighbourhood's organic food scarcity, transforming the building into a source of fresh produce and shared stewardship.

"Layered terraces invite residents to garden, gather and reconnect with traditions disrupted by decades of resource loss.

"By integrating greenery, communal spaces and a bold, expressive facade, this project strives to restore agency, strengthen community bonds and support a healthier, more self-sustaining future for Crenshaw."

Students: Valerie Gahman Vergara and Sharlette Sek
Course: Housing on Crenshaw: The Design of Collective Form
Tutor: Sascha Delz

Architectural Chunk by Frida Gonzales and Kate Park

"Our project's residential design focuses on the modern family structure, promoting adaptability and growth.

"To realise these concepts, we created central 'cores' made of a kitchen, bathroom and closet which penetrate through each floor level.

"Units swivel around these static cores and some walls are sliding, accommodating the changing lives of residents and family structures.

"The expansive facade is a display of public art as well as a mode of circulation. It encourages play and rest, allowing people who pass by to sit, climb and walk atop of it."

Students: Frida Gonzales and Kate Park
Course: Housing on Crenshaw: The Design of Collective Form
Tutor: Hye-Young Chung

The Living Wall by Vincent Huang and Corinne Suthard

"This model depicts a section of a larger mid-rise housing project consisting of five co-living clusters. Each cluster includes four to six bedrooms arranged around shared living and kitchen spaces.

"Shifting floor plates establish a stepped language that continues along the exterior facade.

"The design explores two contrasting façade conditions: one terraces downward, creating communal outdoor spaces that invite interaction, while the other employs sharp, angled geometries to offer residents a more private moment of escape."

Students: Vincent Huang and Corinne Suthard
Course: Housing on Crenshaw: The Design of Collective Form
Tutor: Warren Techentin

KinEtic by Junyu Tao and Tianshuo Wei

"Located at the intersection of the Metro E and K Lines within the Crenshaw community, our project, KinEtic, seeks to connect mobility with housing, shifting demographics and everyday social exchange.

"Our 'chunk model' arranges the building into layered bands of collective and private life – retail activating the ground level, co-living units on the second and third floors and a mix of additional unit types above to accommodate diverse needs.

"Units are intentionally staggered along hallways, creating moments of transition between exterior and interior.

"The facade draws inspiration from the stained-glass windows of the nearby church, using colour and geometry to honour Black cultural heritage and serve as a symbol of renewal."

Students: Junyu Tao and Tianshuo Wei
Course: Housing on Crenshaw: The Design of Collective Form
Tutor: Eric Haas

Architectural Chunk by Catherine Chen and Andrew Kim

"In co-living clusters, the shared kitchens, living rooms and amenities allow residents to socialise.

"Balconies and facades become individual spaces for each resident, gently curved into private pods away from the commotion of the interior."

Students: Catherine Chen and Andrew Kim
Course: Housing on Crenshaw: The Design of Collective Form
Tuto: Wes Jones

Architectural Chunk by Ayeon Kang and Jair Vielmas

"Designed using a mass timber structural system, the project's longer spans and taller walls create an open, flexible interior.

"These structural advantages allow for larger gathering spaces, double height ceilings and uninterrupted circulation and workspaces, reinforced by a central skylight that runs through the centre of the building.

"Wrapped around the timber core is a layer of fish-scale-like translucent shingles, supported by a lightweight aluminium substructure, forming a second skin.

"This secondary facade filters daylight and reduces solar heat gain, eliminating the need for exterior overhangs. The multicoloured shingles create dynamic interior light qualities and give the building a distinctive material identity."

Students: Ayeon Kang and Jair Vielmas
Course: Housing on Crenshaw: The Design of Collective Form
Tutor: Warren Techentin

Architectural Chunk by Jemimia Chery and Aiden Hilger

"Crenshaw Boulevard has historically served as a vital commercial and cultural artery for Black Los Angeles, fostering community, entrepreneurship and artistic expression.

"This proposal seeks to pay homage to Crenshaw's history by establishing a dynamic, multi-use space dedicated to local creatives and small business owners.

"The structure deforms the classic LA industrial aesthetic through angled terracing, aimed to mirror the surrounding urban grid. It features expansive ceiling heights, exposed gradienting brick and oversized steel railings.

"The ground level hosts an open-plan marketplace, providing local vendors with accessible platforms to showcase and sell their products.

"As the building ascends, it transitions into residential units designed specifically for artists, with integrated exhibition spaces spanning the first through third floors.

"These units will foster live-work opportunities and encourage interactive engagement between creators and the public."

Students: Jemimia Chery and Aiden Hilger
Course: Housing on Crenshaw: The Design of Collective Form
Tutor: Hye-Young Chung

Architectural Chunk by Olivia Nau and Armand Shakeri

"This model explores the 'living wall' as a porous, inhabitable threshold where enclosure, structure and light intertwine.

"Perforated panels wrap the facade in a shifting pattern, filtering sun and framing views while creating layered gradients of privacy and shade.

"Continuous horizontal floor plates define clear spatial boundaries among staggered units. The interplay of voids and layered surfaces introduces sectional depth that blurs interior and exterior, emphasising adaptability and human-scale engagement.

"By articulating the surface as both skin and spatial generator, the model proposes a facade that supports everyday domestic life rather than simply enclosing it."

Students: Olivia Nau and Armand Shakeri
Course: Housing on Crenshaw: The Design of Collective Form
Tutor: Wes Jones

Architectural Chunk (Woven) by Skyler Hirota and Owen Cheng

"Woven is a transit-oriented mid-rise housing project focused on diversity in residents and individuality in experiences.

"The development houses a collage of senior, family and young professionals aimed at creating a distinctive community, combating loneliness and defeating monotony.

"The facade embraces signs of life. Rather than appearing like an uninhabitable sculpture, Woven showcases human activity through operable shades and exterior circulation that creates 'eyes on the street', and spandrel glass that highlights silhouettes of activity.

"The trussed 'gate' welcomes pedestrians from Crenshaw and the nearby Metro and percolates throughout the units in heavy timber columns that add warmth."

Students: Skyler Hirota and Owen Cheng
Course: Housing on Crenshaw: The Design of Collective Form
Tutor: Eric Haas

Architectural Chunk by Anna Meng and Janice Hsieh

"This mid-rise residential project focuses on fostering community within a space-constrained urban landscape. Sloping green surfaces create an elevated park that guides movement and provides places to gather.

"Above the park, a mix of apartments and co-living units accommodates different living needs. The building's exposed steel structural system frames both the park and the residential levels.

"Together, the ramped park and residential layers form an integrated setting where community is shaped by movement, openness and collective space."

Students: Anna Meng and Janice Hsieh
Course: Housing on Crenshaw: The Design of Collective Form
Tutor: Warren Techentin

Architectural Chunk (Learning from Crenshaw Blvd) by Genesis Ramos and Vivica Martinez

"Learning from Crenshaw Blvd uses the street itself as a text that reveals the identity, history and values of the community.

"The project is a mixed-use housing and commercial development, but instead of blending the two sides together, we created distinct facades to respond to different identities and the rhythms the streets hold.

"We looked closely at the role of the strip malls in the neighbourhood and how their imperfect, patchy quality – like the large bank sitting next to a tiny wig shop – creates a visual language that feels both spontaneous and deeply local.

"Our work explores how these contrasts, layers and juxtapositions shape the everyday experience of the area."

Students: Genesis Ramos and Vivica Martinez
Course: Housing on Crenshaw: The Design of Collective Form
Tutor: Kate Yeh Chiu

Architectural Chunk by Aaron Chang and Ava Lord

"Catering towards multi-generation families, our mid-rise housing complex focuses on adaptable design that can grow alongside a family.

"Using interchangeable modular housing units – bedroom, bathroom and living – that can be added or subtracted, families can customise their apartment to fit their own needs.

"To foster community, our project features a hierarchy of shared spaces, including a massive communal area that connects all three buildings and smaller pockets of communal kitchens.

"Finally, the facade consists of customisable fabrics that each unit occupant can design and display, allowing families to truly make these spaces their own."

Students: Aaron Chang and Ava Lord
Course: Housing on Crenshaw: The Design of Collective Form
Tutor: Sascha Delz

Partnership content

This school show is a partnership between Dezeen and University of Southern California. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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