Abdulrahman AlKhudhari

Lines demarcate land, splitting it into parcels and lots defined by streets and freeways. The Department of City Planning delineates zoning, with commercial zones typically along main streets, spreading both horizontally and vertically across the city. Low/low-medium density residential zones are situated off the main streets, forming an underlying grid that spatially organizes and structures the city. However, the rigidity of this grid allows for no flexibility regarding zoning and lot size, leading to a lack of access to most parts of the city and a loss of sense of community.

The residential block in Los Angeles has always been determined by the property lines that form its lots. The thesis looks at reimagining the residential block in Los Angeles in order to reactivate it and bring back the loss of community. A closer study of the existing conditions on the site allows for reorienting of conditions on the site. The thesis looks at the backyard zone as the space for intervention. Looking at pre-oil Kuwait courtyard houses as a typology for additional houses on the site. As well as shifting driveways into sikkas or alleyways, allowing for circulation and social activity on the site. Creating a looser grid on the site and a shift in the city's urban fabric.