The Hybrid of Lincoln Heights

Location Los Angeles, CA

Year 2025

Instructor William Virgil

Partner Manuel Kabatek Bello

Software Rhino 8 Midjourney HitEm3D Zbrush

Description

Overview Developed for the SCI-Arc 2GAX Complex Morphologies studio, this project proposes an adaptive reuse of the historic Lincoln Heights Jail in Los Angeles. Challenging the contemporary architectural status of the urban building, the intervention transforms a site of former incarceration into a self-sufficient, off-grid hotel designed to thrive independently of centralized utilities. The design reconciles architectural conservation with radical mutation, retaining 40% of the existing jail's facade and structure while grafting a speculative, "post-natural" anatomy onto the historic shell.

Research & Development The design logic was derived from the entanglement of biological and mechanical systems. We began by generating a catalog of 30 distinct samples—10 plants, 10 insects, and 10 machines—using Midjourney. From this library, a single specimen from each category was selected and hybridized into four "post-natural" organisms that fused the cycles of photosynthesis, the mobility of swarm intelligence, and the infrastructure of energy transmission.

Massing Using HitEm3D, these four AI-generated hybrids were converted into digital meshes. In collaboration with my partner, Manuel, we each developed independent massing strategies by aggregating these meshes and trimming them against the project's site boundaries. This stage was captured through CNC-milled wood models, shown on the right.

Systematic Generation Our individual massings were eventually merged into a single, coherent architectural organism. This "atmospheric hotel" functions less like a sealed container and more like a porous filter, drawing resources from the air to sustain its off-grid status.

Technical Resolution To test the fidelity of this hybrid logic, we produced an extremely detailed sectional chunk model. This physical artifact documents the tectonic transition where the rigid, historic jail structure meets the fluid, speculative systems of the new intervention, highlighting the integration of renewable energy and water management systems.

A note from me

[One surprise from working with the existing jail, and how it changed the design.]