Collective spaces : a study in the conversion of storage to living spaces in City of Industry, California

Abstract

A research and design study was instigated to rethink the phenomenon of storage in relation to contemporary living spheres. Although few historical traces of personal storage remain, the study of the evolution of commercial storage revealed a progression from spaces for hoarding goods to spaces for housing activities of production. Zooming in on site, City of Industry, in Los Angeles, California, an island of warehouse typologies was found in the midst of diverse residential neighborhoods facing increasing housing pressures. Furthermore, mappings of "big box" warehouse spaces within Industry revealed inefficiencies in storage practices and the potential for remaking the City into a more porous oasis of living/working. It would not only be made more porous simply in terms of providing mulit-use living spaces, but in terms of providing living accommodations for a range of constituents, ranging from laborers, students, to recent immigrants who have not yet assimilated to typical suburban single-detached housing. As a test case, one warehouse building exemplifying typical construction/use of Industry was examined in more detail and strategies of conversion from storage to living were illustrated.