University of Southern California M.ARCH: 2024 M.ARCH Excellence in Directed Design Research Award

Spring 2024

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Dream City recognizes the potential of liminal and underutilized spaces within the contemporary metropolis. It eclipses the traditional urban design perspective by re-imagining the void alley network of DTLA as a threshold to alternate urban possibilities. This thesis blurs the line between reality and fantasy, presenting this liminal network as a complex construct shaped by dreams, desires, and the perceptions of its inhabitants. Void spaces within the city are hijacked by the fantastical, combining and mutating themselves into a heterotopic network of liminal dreamscapes adjacent to the preexisting built environment. Speculative scenarios and provocative narratives exploit the potential implications of navigating these fictional architectural environments, prompting the reflection on the nature of spatial perception and identity, and inspiring new ways of thinking about the relationship between architecture, society, and time. By embracing speculative fantasy, this thesis challenges architects and designers to reconsider their role in shaping reality and imagine new forms of experience that can transcend the limits of space and our disciplines devotion to the “real.”