Art Wetland is an all-encompassing art center positioned in the heart of South Park, Los Angeles. Having explored the community of South Park through comprehensive research and surveys, it's evident that this district carries a robust and enduring artistic heritage. Nevertheless, it simultaneously grapples with socioeconomic issues such as low-income levels, minimal education, high immigration and single-parent household rates. With this in mind, the primary goal of this project is to utilize art as a tool for creating an inclusive ecosystem encompassing art, education, culture, economy, and ecology within the community. This approach aims to gradually alleviate the existing societal challenges through non-intrusive, empathetic methods.

To initiate this process, our focus lies in identifying and leveraging the "idle resources" that diverse groups within the community can offer, and understanding their needs. We aim to establish a system of exchange that benefits all involved. For instance, the community could host artist residency programs for young artists. In return, these artists could contribute their works to host activities within the community, enhancing its influence and cohesion. Alongside providing exhibition opportunities, these artists would also deliver after-school art education for local children, directly benefiting the community and indirectly freeing up time for parents who can then focus more on their work, a potential solution to the low-income issue.

Regarding the physical structure, the southern side of the building integrates seamlessly with the regular grid of city texture, while the northern side borders the organically formed wetland park. This dual-aspect nature of the site has informed the architectural design on both a plan and elevation level. Towards the city, the architecture adheres to a more regular design, while it adopts a more dynamic form when facing the natural landscape. Simultaneously, by alternating between void and solid spaces, the architecture offers a range of spaces, each carrying a varying degree of openness to cater to different programmatic needs.