Reflections on Return, instructor: Matthew Soules, w. Charles Burke; Los Angeles, CA

Through spatial manipulation, illusion, and tactile geometry, Reflections on Return seeks to challenge the accepted norm of real estate investment and condominium living in downtown Los Angeles.

The project subverts the typical desirable Los Angeles property -- units are sheared in plan and section creating a perimeter plan and a cathedralesque, hollow void center. The geometry, or ‘mirage’, of the facade creates several repeating pleated surfaces at each floor datum. These surfaces reflect light and sound to and from one another, resulting in a calculated ambiguity and a sense of desire when seen from afar.

The unit itself is compressed to its smallest possible dimension, although the buyer purchases not only the built livable space but also a segment of void space: the latent completed unit, the concealed desire of the mirage.