Silver Lake is a special enclave that the creative class calls home - from designers to writers to artists and musicians. Here lies the confluence of so many cultures. 

>>>Plug-in Junction<<< envisions this site as a hub for an ordinary day stopping for coffee on your way to the salon, enjoying a taco and juice during your work-break, or waiting for the bus heading downtown. It is also a hub for plugging into many special occasions from the annual Sunset Junction street fair and Silver Lake Jubilee to the Los Angeles Marathon and Ciclavía.

Plug-In Junction aims to satisfy the infrastructural needs for a hub of activities that vary day to day. 

A streetscape design proposal for the Envisioning Silver Lake Design Competition in collaboration with Claude Eshaghian

Design Concept

Multi-colored overhead shade fins representing the varied cultures of Silver Lake provide an iconographic urban marker with open views toward Griffith Park and the hillside neighborhood. Reminiscent of the Neutra louver, the steel fins have a hinged connection to branch-like tubular steel poles. The poles are a conduit for fiber optic lighting and power.

A low seat wall containing an audio system will surround a planter and raised platform to use as a bandstand or just a place to relax.

Paving will be embedded with decorative metals, colored glass and other materials that will convey messages about water and energy conservation. Cast in place sections of water pipe (ranging in both size and material from steel, copper, concrete and terra cotta) will be indicators of the water supply infrastructure in Los Angeles. These decorative elements will be made from repurposed Public Works scraps conveying information about what lies beneath the boulevard and conveying the importance of managing our limited natural resources.

Community Design & Participation

We propose engaging with the entire Silver Lake community from residents to business owners to identify key safety and maintenance issues and to prioritize practical needs. Local students could be engaged through a design charrette process to learn about grassroots community building and consensus.