STIX CITY

STIX Towers builds on our Earth Protector series of projects, which are focused on sets of megalithic objects in seemingly provisional arrangements, creating vast new urban interiors and district-scale shade. STIX Towers is based on a set of slender sticks, leaning on one another in unexpected orientations. These sticks land on undeveloped land in downtown Los Angeles- such as surface parking lots- in order to densify the city. The incline of the sticks creates tension and wonder against verticality of the existing city buildings; we call this effect the ‘familiar/ alien’. STIX unsettles gravity and world-orientation, unsettling everyday reality.

Each stick is 30x30 meters in plan and extremely long in its third dimension. Sticks are packed with residential, hospitality, and commercial space; public amenities are located where sticks touch or intersect. Intersections also allow structural and egress connections, breaking the vertical spans and creating multiple safe paths to the ground.

Megatextures articulate the sticks like samurai armor—including giant Chevrons, Ys, and Dragonscales. These textures are broken down into glazed and opaque zones , with embedded solar PVs appearing like tattoos where surfaces are glance-cut. Megatextured facades, unlike late modern ‘envelope’ which is flat and wraps buildings like a sock, are based on mass and depth rather than surface. The strong shapes of the Megatextures compliment the strong silhouette of the stick towers against the sky.

Shadows from the sticks are cast on the ground, transforming the city below, and creating connections between the sticks. These shadows, which drape across land, streets, and existing buildings, create a new urban realm full of forests and urban life.

This is a reboot of the American city for the 21st century.

LOCATION

Downtown Los Angeles

TYPE

Housing, Office, Inner-city Solar Fields

YEAR

2025

DESIGN TEAM

Principal: Tom Wiscombe, AIA
Designers: Binghao Yao, Shervin Hashemi, Chenglu Xue, Matt Scholtz

PROJECT TEAM

Design Architect: TWA, Los Angele

STIX Towers is based on a set of slender sticks, leaning on one another in unexpected orientations. These sticks land on undeveloped land in downtown Los Angeles- such as surface parking lots- in order to densify the city.

Each stick is 30x30 meters in plan and extremely long in its third dimension. Sticks are packed with residential, hospitality, and commercial space; public amenities are located where sticks touch or intersect.

A set of Megatextures articulates the sticks like samurai armor-- giant chevrons, Ys, and dragonscales. These patterns are broken down into glazed and opaque zones, with embedded solar PVs appearing like tattoos where surfaces are glance-cut.

Shadows from the sticks are cast on the ground, connecting the whole development together at the ground with forests and life, protected by shade.

STIX CITY

SEE WORK