Point Conception
Lompoc, CA

In Collaboration with The Nature’s Conservancy (TNC) Jack and Laura Dangermond Preserve
On Going

Point Conception
Ecology as Archive, Atmosphere as Medium

The project operates at a site defined by convergence: the meeting of cold Pacific currents and the warmer waters of the Santa Barbara Channel; the intersection of Indigenous stewardship, colonial occupation, military infrastructure, and contemporary environmental conservation. Long inhabited by the Chumash for over 10,000 years, this landscape, known as Similaqsa, the gateway between worlds—holds layered histories of displacement, extraction, and ecological transformation. Rather than approaching the site as a static landscape, the project frames it as a dynamic archive of particles. Dust—whether ecological (pollen, salt, lichen), industrial (lead paint, oil residue), or atmospheric (rocket emissions, vibration from aerospace activity)—is understood as a material record of time. These particulate conditions reveal the ongoing impacts of the Anthropocene, where seemingly dormant infrastructures—including nearby launch activity at Vandenberg Space Force Base—continue to shape air, soil, water, and habitat systems across the preserve.

Ecology, Memory, and Indigenous Knowledge
Central to the project is a reorientation toward Indigenous ecological knowledge, recognizing the Chumash as long-term stewards of this land. Their understanding of Point Conception as a sacred threshold reframes the site not as territory to be occupied, but as a relational system to be sustained. The work challenges Western distinctions between nature and culture, instead proposing an architecture that engages continuity between human and ecological systems. Restoration is approached not only as environmental repair, but as cultural and epistemological realignment.

Position Within MIIM’s Work
Here, sanctuary is constructed through attunement rather than form—a condition where architecture mediates between human perception and environmental processes. By rendering invisible systems legible, the project positions architecture as a tool for ecological awareness, stewardship, and long-term transformation.

Research Agenda

The project is embedded within an ongoing research and pedagogical framework. We ask:

How can architecture engage atmospheric and particulate systems as design material?
What forms of infrastructure support long-term ecological restoration and education?
How can spatial design reestablish relationships between Indigenous knowledge, scientific research, and public engagement?

Related Projects: Oakgrove Trail and El Segundo Gateway