Ballona Creek
Design Team: Michael Frederick, Francesco Valente-Gorjup, Ryan Whitacre | Advisors: Olivier Touraine
Venice, California : 2009
Prior to human settlement Ballona Creek and the surrounding estuary was one of the largest wetlands in Los Angeles. Ironically the place where the Spanish first dropped anchor, became the site of the most speculative and destructive project in Los Angeles. The industrial and residential development on this site has neglected the environment and transformed this once thriving ecosystem into a concrete channel of open sewage. Understanding the futility of displacing humans from any vacant land west of the 405 freeway this project attempts to align the interest of the developers with those of the environment. The consolidation and the phasing of the restoration of the wetland would not only be a kind politically gesture offering recreational and natural space, but would also make the development with its surrounding preserved natural spaces one of the more attractive places to live in Los Angeles. By pairing filtration of pollutants with recreation spaces it is possible to finance the development of Playa vista while contributing to its bottom line.
