Heart of Westwood
Overview
Heart of Westwood is a future facing multimodal mobility hub concept developed during my internship at BMW Designworks in Santa Monica. The project responds to growing transportation pressure in Westwood, especially with the arrival of the Metro D-Line extension and the added regional demand expected around the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Working in a team of three, I played a lead role across project direction, research, systems thinking, product design, kiosk UX, and final storytelling. Together, we identified a clear opportunity in Westwood: a high demand transit district with fragmented rider experiences, limited support, and an underused site directly adjacent to major future infrastructure.
Our proposal reimagines Parking Structure 32 as a people centered mobility hub that integrates transit, improves rider comfort, and introduces an agentic AI kiosk assistant to help users navigate routes, access services, and move through the space with more confidence. The final concept was presented to BMW Designworks global leadership along with guests from Los Angeles city government.
Exterior view of the Heart of Westwood, showing the proposed mobility hub’s architectural identity and public facing scale.
Render of the AI powered kiosk, designed to provide route planning, multilingual support, and transit assistance within the hub.
Context
During my summer internship at BMW Designworks, a BMW Group company, I was part of a team asked to imagine a future mobility solution for Los Angeles. The challenge was not to make a small incremental fix, but to think strategically about what the city will need in the near future as new transit infrastructure comes online and global event pressure increases.
We chose to focus on Westwood, a district that already deals with congestion, complex travel patterns, and a large mix of students, workers, residents, and international visitors. This area will become even more important with the new D-Line station currently under construction, which will dramatically improve regional access to Westwood.
That created a much bigger opportunity than just designing around a station. Right next to the future D-Line stop sits a large parking structure and surrounding site with major redevelopment potential. Our project asked: what if this space stopped functioning primarily as a car storage asset and instead became a true mobility asset for the neighborhood?
That framing became central to the project. The concept was not just about making transit nicer. It was about increasing the usefulness, connectivity, and public value of a major piece of land at exactly the moment when the D-Line is poised to reshape the area.
Location of the proposed hub in Westwood, where Parking Structure 32 is currently located.
Ideating our mobility hub concept with BMW Designworks staff.
Research
We began by researching Westwood as both a present day mobility bottleneck and a future high pressure transit zone. Through ethnographic observation, site analysis, and secondary research, I helped identify the core issues shaping the commuter experience.
1. Heavy congestion
Westwood already experiences major traffic congestion, slow travel times, and unreliable surface transit flow. The area supports UCLA, major bus routes, dense commercial activity, and high local movement. With the Olympics approaching, these pressures will intensify.
2. Low rider comfort
The current experience for many riders is harsh and inefficient. People wait on crowded sidewalks with limited shade, little seating, and minimal relief from the environment. There is very little sense of comfort, pause, or dignity built into the experience.
3. Weak support services
Transit support systems in the area do not fully serve a global and diverse user base. Existing kiosks offer limited language support and limited flexibility, leaving many first time users, international visitors, and uncertain riders with too much friction.
4. Underused site potential
One of the most important findings was spatial and strategic. Parking Structure 32, located directly adjacent to the future D-Line station, is currently a massive low value use of extremely valuable land. As transit access improves and car dependence shifts, the site becomes an obvious opportunity for adaptive reuse.
This was a key insight. The real opportunity was not only solving transit pain points, but using a future transit anchor to unlock much greater public and mobility value from the surrounding land.
Major user groups and destinations that make Westwood a high demand mobility district, especially looking ahead to 2028.
Field research documenting two core mobility issues in Westwood: severe congestion and limited comfort for people waiting on foot.
The existing TAP kiosk interfaces, which currently have poor usability. Along with support for only two languages.
University mobility systems that informed the project, showing how peer cities improved transit ridership and reduced car dependence.
Process
We conducted field research and site analysis across Westwood, where we documented congestion, poor rider comfort, and gaps in existing transit support. Through ethnographic observation, precedent research, and secondary research, I helped synthesize these issues into a broader systems problem: Westwood’s mobility experience was fragmented, and the surrounding infrastructure was not prepared for the added pressure of the future D-Line and the 2028 Olympics.
From there, I helped reframe the opportunity around Parking Structure 32, a large underused site directly next to the future Metro D-Line station. Instead of treating the brief as a standalone transit concept, we focused on how this site could be transformed into a true mobility asset that increases the value of the new rail investment while improving the daily experience of riders on the ground.
Once the opportunity was defined, I contributed to shaping the concept across both physical and digital layers. We organized the hub into three levels, underground, ground level, and terrace, to structure circulation, transfers, waiting, and rest. I helped develop the overall service logic of the hub, contributed to the floor planning and visual direction, and played a major role in designing the kiosk experience as a rider facing digital layer within the larger system.
Throughout the process, I worked to make sure the concept held together as one cohesive experience rather than a set of separate ideas. That meant aligning site strategy, rider needs, spatial planning, kiosk UX, and final storytelling into a proposal that felt both visionary and plausible.
Proposed street level interventions, including signal timing updates and curb expansions to improve flow and safety.
A floor plan of the ground level, outlining key program elements such as the bus bay, micro-mobility access, dining, and entry points.
A floor plan of the terrace level, showing how seating, greenery, and shared gathering spaces create a calmer place to rest within the hub.
A floor plan of the underground level, showing parking access and the direct tunnel connection to the future Metro D-Line station.
Strategy
Our strategy was based on one core belief: future mobility in Westwood should be designed as an integrated system, not as isolated transportation fixes. Three strategic moves shaped the concept.
Repurpose existing infrastructure
Rather than inventing a brand new site, we focused on Parking Structure 32, a large existing structure directly next to the new D-Line station. This made the concept more feasible, more strategic, and more relevant to Westwood’s actual future.
Instead of keeping the site dominated by above ground parking, our concept consolidates parking underground, freeing the rest of the land and structure to become a multimodal hub. This dramatically increases the value and utility of the site while still preserving parking capacity where needed.
Use the D-Line as a force multiplier
The D-Line already brings major transportation value to Westwood. Our concept extends and multiplies that value by turning the adjacent site into a full transfer and support ecosystem rather than leaving the station as a more isolated transit node.
This is a major point of the project: the D-Line becomes far more impactful when paired with a mobility hub that connects buses, pedestrians, bikes, and rider services into one place.
Design for friction reduction
The hub and kiosk were both designed around reducing real friction. This included:
reducing painful transfers
improving comfort and waiting conditions
helping people understand where to go
supporting multilingual interaction
giving uncertain users real assistance instead of static signage
This is where the AI piece became important. We did not treat AI as decoration. We treated it as infrastructure for rider support.
The current Parking Structure 32 site, which became the basis for reimagining the area as a future multimodal mobility hub.
The future Metro D-Line station under construction next to the proposed hub site, showing the real infrastructure opportunity shaping the concept.
Validation
Research backed alignment
The final concept directly responded to the main issues we identified in Westwood: congestion, lack of comfort, and weak support services. Each major design move addressed a clear gap in the current rider experience.
Site credibility
The proposal was grounded in a real location with a real transit investment already underway. Centering the project on Parking Structure 32 and the future D-Line helped make the concept feel strategically realistic rather than speculative for its own sake.
Integrated system thinking
One of the strongest signs of validation was that the concept worked across multiple layers at once. The land use strategy, circulation planning, rider amenities, and kiosk experience all reinforced each other as part of a single mobility system.
Leadership presentation
At the end of the internship, we presented the full concept to BMW Designworks global leadership along with guests from Los Angeles city government. That presentation acted as an important form of validation, because the work had to stand up as a serious future mobility proposal in front of experienced design and city facing stakeholders.
Early sketches and visual studies used to define the hub’s architectural character around efficiency, warmth, and a more elevated commuter experience.
Quality seating, green space, café amenities, and real time transit information could make waiting feel more comfortable and useful.
Screens showing the kiosk’s core experience, including multilingual access, route planning, AI assistance, and QR handoff to a phone.
Solution
We designed Heart of Westwood, a multimodal mobility hub that transforms a car centric site into a connected, people centered transit destination.
Rather than keeping the site dominated by parking, the concept reorganizes it around mobility, comfort, and support. Parking is consolidated underground, while the rest of the site is repurposed into a layered commuter experience connected directly to the future Metro D-Line and surrounding bus infrastructure. This shift turns an underused parking asset into a higher value public mobility hub for Westwood.
The hub is organized into three levels:
Underground
The underground level retains parking while adding a direct connection to the Metro D-Line station, creating a more seamless relationship between driving, walking, and rail.
Ground Level
The ground level serves as the hub’s main circulation and transit layer, with bus access, entry points, waiting areas, and support spaces designed to make movement clearer, easier, and more comfortable.
Terrace
The terrace provides a calmer upper level environment with seating, greenery, rest areas, and a café, turning waiting into a more restorative and useful part of the commuter experience.
The overall form and visual language draw from Mediterranean Revival architecture, helping the concept feel rooted in Westwood rather than generic or disconnected from its surroundings.
Key Features
1. Multimodal integration
The hub brings together metro, bus, bike, and pedestrian movement in one coordinated system. Instead of scattered transfers and fragmented infrastructure, riders move through a more unified mobility experience.
2. Direct D-Line connection
A direct underground connection links the hub to the future Metro D-Line station. This increases the usefulness of the new line by making transfers easier and by tying it into a broader mobility destination rather than leaving it as a standalone stop.
3. Redevelopment of an underused site
A massive parking structure next to a major new transit line represents a major opportunity cost. By moving parking underground and repurposing the rest of the space, the concept increases the site’s value to the neighborhood and makes better use of one of Westwood’s most strategically located properties.
4. Improved rider comfort
The concept adds shade, seating, pause points, and spaces that make the commuter experience more humane. Comfort was treated as core infrastructure, not an afterthought.
5. Clearer movement and wayfinding
The physical layout is designed to feel intuitive, with clearer circulation, readable access points, and support spaces that reduce confusion and stress.
6. Agentic AI kiosk assistant
This was one of the most important parts of the project, and one of the areas where I contributed heavily.
The kiosk is not just an information screen. It is designed as an agentic AI transit assistant that actively helps users understand their options and complete tasks. Rather than forcing riders to dig through static menus, the system supports more natural, goal oriented interaction.
Core kiosk capabilities include:
route planning based on destination and preferred mode
real time arrival and departure information
transfer guidance between bus, metro, and walking routes
multilingual support for a diverse and global rider population
voice first interaction to reduce friction and improve accessibility
TAP card services and transit service support
ticketing and trip assistance
service discovery, helping users understand what is available in the hub
contextual help for first time visitors who may not know where to go or what to do next
QR code handoff, allowing route or trip information to transfer to a phone
example prompts and guided interactions to make the system feel approachable
This was a key UX idea in the project. The kiosk acts more like a smart transit concierge than a traditional kiosk. Its purpose is to reduce uncertainty, especially for people who are unfamiliar with the area, anxious about navigation, or navigating in a language other than English.
7. Support spaces that feel safe and usable
The kiosk areas were designed to feel supportive and visible, with natural lighting and open sightlines. The goal was to provide help in a way that feels calm and trustworthy without making the user feel exposed.
8. Local architectural grounding
The concept draws from local architectural character to make the space feel rooted in Westwood and more likely to resonate as a civic place rather than just transportation infrastructure.
A flow showing how the kiosk helps users intuitively plan their route.
Results
The final outcome was a fully developed future mobility concept expressed across research, strategy, space, service design, and digital interaction.
Deliverables included:
a clearly framed mobility problem tied to real Westwood conditions
a research backed strategic argument for repurposing Parking Structure 32
a multimodal hub concept integrated with the future D-Line station
floor plans and visual concepts for the underground, ground, and terrace levels
kiosk UX concepts and interface screens
high fidelity presentation materials that communicated the system end to end
One of the strongest results was that the project did not stop at broad urban design language. It translated the larger mobility vision into concrete rider facing experiences, especially through the kiosk. That gave the concept more depth and made it easier to understand how people would actually interact with the system.
Our concept video showcasing the different levels and features of the Heart of Westwood.
Exterior view of the Heart of Westwood
The indoor plaza, designed as a bright circulation space that connects people moving through the hub to different areas.
Impact
Heart of Westwood showed how a new metro line can become far more impactful when paired with strong adjacent mobility infrastructure, rider amenities, and intelligent support services.
The concept reframed the site next to the D-Line as more than a parking structure. It became a strategic piece of public facing mobility infrastructure with the potential to improve transfers, reduce friction, support international visitors, and create much more value for Westwood as a neighborhood.
The work was significant enough to be presented to BMW Designworks global leadership and guests from Los Angeles city government, which elevated the project beyond a standard internship deliverable. It became part of a larger conversation around the future of urban transit, land use, and mobility design in Los Angeles.
For me personally, the project also marked an important step in my growth as a designer. It showed that I can help lead complex work that combines strategy, systems thinking, UX, and visual execution into one coherent vision.
A moment from our final presentation, where we shared the mobility hub concept and key design decisions with BMW Designworks leadership and guests.
Me and my team, along with other BMW Designworks interns.
What I Learned
This project taught me how powerful it is to think about mobility as both a systems problem and a product experience problem.
I learned that great transportation design is not only about throughput or infrastructure. It is about reducing uncertainty, helping people make decisions, and designing moments of support into stressful environments.
I also learned how much value sits at the intersection of physical and digital design. The kiosk became strongest when it was treated not as an isolated screen, but as part of the architecture, circulation, and service logic of the hub itself.
Another major lesson was around strategic framing. A concept becomes much more compelling when it is tied to a real inflection point. In this case, the D-Line made the project feel urgent, and the underused parking structure made it feel actionable.
Finally, I learned how important it is to tell a concept in a way that makes its feasibility legible. Big ideas land better when people can clearly see why they matter, why now is the right time, and what makes them plausible.
Reflection
Looking back, one of my strongest contributions was helping shape this project into something that felt both visionary and grounded. I played a leading role in defining the experience, building the design direction, and ensuring the project stayed connected to real user and city level needs.
The most important thing we did well was avoid making the work feel like a generic future city concept.
We tied Heart of Westwood to:
a real location
a real transit investment already underway
a real land use opportunity
real commuter pain points
and a real support need that the kiosk could solve
I am especially proud of the kiosk work. That part of the project helped show how AI can create practical value in public infrastructure when it is designed around actual user needs such as route planning, navigation confidence, language access, and task completion.
If I were continuing the project, the next step would be to push deeper into operational detail and validation. I would want to prototype the kiosk assistant with real riders, test how it performs across different user groups, and pressure test the hub during peak event scenarios. I would also want to explore the service model, maintenance model, and implementation pathway that could make the concept truly viable.
Overall, this project reinforced the type of designer I want to be: someone who can lead from strategy, design across systems, and still shape the actual user experience with precision.
