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USC Architecture

Elyse
Bouchard

USC Architecture

Work

featured projects

ARCH 202A
‍PART 3 | ARTIFACT

Between Sky and Ground explores the urban artifact as a malleable form shaped by the forces both above and below it, renegotiating Altadena’s altered ground as a space for regrowth, regeneration and resilience. How does the architecture of post-fire Altadena situate itself within a fragile ecosystem of charred matter, unstable earth and flowing debris? Recalling the historic ecology of the Eaton wash, a marsh landscape provides a dynamic environment where native habitats thrive amidst the human bustle of civic operations. It is the richness of this urbanized nature that enables bird habitats and human activity to coexist.

ARCH 202A
‍PART 1 & 2 | CONTEXT AND SCENARIO

This project investigates post-fire reconstruction in Altadena through an environmental and systems-based lens. Beginning with contextual research and layered mapping after the Eaton Fire, I developed analytical diagrams examining topography, fire risk, vegetation, wildlife movement, climate forces, and pedestrian mobility to reveal existing constraints and latent ecological patterns. Building on this framework, the proposal reimagines historic water flows from the San Gabriel Mountains as a re-established wetland organized within a circular system that disrupts the rigid urban grid. Architecture is elevated and embedded within the landscape, carefully positioned among resilient oak trees, while debris flow from the burn scar is repurposed to generate new topography that shapes circulation and public space. Together, the project positions architecture as an extension of natural systems, supporting ecological corridors, wildlife habitation, and human movement while responding to climate resilience and post-fire recovery.

Renovation + Residential Expansion
Level Coworking

Developed during my internship in Paris, this project focuses on the renovation and vertical expansion of Level Coworking, a mixed-use building undergoing transformation. The work involved reconfiguring the existing ground and second floors for coworking while introducing five new residential levels above. I contributed through site visits, architectural drawings, physical model making, and 3D digital modeling. In parallel, I proposed programmatic interventions, including integrating a public coffee shop to strengthen accessibility and community engagement. The project emphasized balancing design intent with real-world constraints while collaborating in a bilingual professional environment.

Bentley Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU)

This project explores the design and construction of a two-story accessory dwelling unit with a rooftop deck. Working as an intern at RENspace, I assisted the lead architect throughout the design process, contributing to concept development, diagrams, and detailed drawings. During construction, I played an active role in communicating design intent with contractors to ensure clarity and accuracy on site. As the project progressed into later construction phases, my focus shifted toward producing 3D renderings and interior visuals, translating material choices and spatial atmosphere into representations that help bring the project to life.

ARCH 102B
‍Project 3 | Mercado la Paloma 2.0

This project proposes an expansion of Mercado La Paloma in Los Angeles, developed as the final studio project for Arch 102B. The design synthesizes formal strategies explored earlier in the semester with rigorous site and programmatic analysis. Building upon previous 3D massing studies, the project investigates how form, circulation, and structure respond to both the public market program and its surrounding context. Through iterative modeling, drawings, and representational studies, the proposal explores architecture as a mediator between formal experimentation and the social, cultural, and urban conditions embedded within the site.

ARCH 102B
‍Projects 1 & 2 | Formal Exploration

Projects 1 and 2 established a foundation of formal exploration and site-driven design that informed later architectural development. Project 1 focused on iterative formal experimentation through analog and computational methods, using parametric tools, animation, and fabrication to study how form evolves through rule-based systems. Project 2 translated these abstract strategies onto a real site at Mercado La Paloma, integrating site documentation, modeling, and contextual analysis. Together, the projects bridge speculative form-making with environmental, programmatic, and urban constraints, emphasizing architecture as a process shaped by both internal logic and external conditions.

ARCH 102A
Cube Studies

ARCH 102A introduced architectural form-making through a series of cube studies exploring iteration, transformation, and spatial complexity. Using Rhino, I generated cubic compositions through Boolean operations and geometric manipulation, incorporating curves, cones, and volumetric subtraction. These digital studies were translated into numerous physical chipboard models, emphasizing precision, material logic, and craft. The project culminated in the synthesis of multiple cubes into a unified architectural object, scaled up and represented through both a final model and a sectional model, emphasizing the relationship between digital experimentation, physical fabrication, and spatial reasoning.

DIRT ISSUE 15
USC SPEC Magazine

Issue 15 of SPEC Magazine is a culture and lifestyle publication exploring the theme of dirt across art, identity, environment, and place. I designed the Plant Music profile, using SPEC’s established visual language to create a cohesive spread while integrating my own graphic sensibility. I was also featured in Altadena Rerooted, which connected the issue’s theme to my architectural work reimagining post-fire Altadena through debris-formed topography. Across both contributions, I bridged SPEC’s editorial style with my background in architecture, using layout, imagery, and material logic to ground cultural narratives in environmental thinking.

CONVERGENCE EDITION XIV
USC MASH Magazine

Convergence is a semester-long editorial project for MASH Magazine at USC, exploring moments where fashion, culture, and the built environment intersect. Across this edition, I worked in multiple roles: writing, editorial design, and cover design. I authored From Rubble to Runway, connecting architectural ideas of materiality, ruin, and reconstruction to contemporary fashion, while designing the spread for Punk Rock Revived I also designed the issue’s cover, visually translating convergence through collage, inversion, and contrast. Together, these works examine how fashion and architecture respond to disruption, resistance, and transformation.

Home About Img
/ Paris sketches

July 2023 | black ink pen
5” x 8.25”
Sketching buildings to study proportion and scale in relation to materials, design details and site.

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Croquis de Paris

We are creative design studio - We are creative design studio

We are creative design studio - We are creative design studio

We are creative design studio - We are creative design studio

We are creative design studio - We are creative design studio

We are creative design studio - We are creative design studio

We are creative design studio - We are creative design studio

We are creative design studio - We are creative design studio

We are creative design studio - We are creative design studio

Elyse
Bouchard

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