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Re: Alta
Creative Collective Haven




Project Name: Re: Alta, Creative Collective Haven 
Location: Altadena
Complete Time:  August 2025
Course Name: Resilent Future Lab
Instructor: James Meraz, Emil Mertzel 
Program Used: Rhino 8, Twinmotion, Photoshop, Lightroom, Gemini
Re: Alta responds to the 2025 Eaton Fire by proposing a creative collective that helps restore Altadena’s devastated artistic community. Through flexible, affordable live-work spaces, the project supports emerging and financially vulnerable artists. Emphasizing openness, care, and adaptability, Re: Alta fosters daily practices of resilience, collaboration, and long-term creative recovery.



Project Sustainability Presentation Video 




Floor Plan
First Floor
Second Floor
Third Floor
Roof



Facade



Community Gallery & Workshop



Creative Hub



Transition Space



Artist Studios & Lofts



Physical Model



Project Poster & Description

Re: Alta is a response to the 2025 Eaton Fire, which devastated the Altadena community and destroyed cherished artist sanctuaries and legacies such as Zorthian Ranch and the JJU Artist Compound. In response to this loss, the project proposes a creative collective complex aimed at revitalizing Altadena’s artistic community, providing space for recovery, collaboration, and the continuation of creative life.

Re: Alta responds to loss not with permanence, but with possibility. The design embraces openness, flexibility, and care, creating spaces that evolve alongside the artists who inhabit them. It serves as a quiet framework for rebuilding, where resilience is practiced daily through creating, adapting, and living together.

Re: Alta is designed for emerging visual art creatives: independent artists, art students, and community-based practitioners, who may be financially vulnerable and in need of affordable, adaptable live-work environments. By supporting both individual practice and collective connection, the project aims to foster recovery and long-term creative growth.




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