I was commissioned by the Youtube channel “Alexander Rotmensz” to reimagine the parking lot of the Calabasas Commons shopping center in the San Fernando Valley as a vibrant, New Urbanist district.

Using hand made methods, I combined existing shots of the shopping center with artwork to imagine a neighborhood of Tuscan architecture, arcades, green spaces, and fountains. I attempted to match the existing architectural styles, and frame the already monumental clock tower and Ralph’s Market within central squares.

I used the Charette layout, giving myself only 2 hours to conceptualize, design, and draw the images and map.

The resulting video can be viewed on Alexander’s channel here.

A central arcade creates a visual center running through the site, ending in a large plaza with the existing clock tower in the center. This arcade also provides a shaded route to cross the site—an essential feature in an area were summer days can regularly exceed 90 degrees.

The right hand side of the site is made of regular, large courtyard blocks, reminiscent of Roman or Renaissance rectilinear designs. The other side, meanwhile, is made of more irregular blocks inspired by Medieval, unplanned urban form. A wide, tree-lined boulevard crosses the entire site, anchored by small elliptical grassy areas on each side.