NEW INC Y12 Creative Science: Bradbaori: A Reinterpretation of the Bradbury Building as Hydrological Infrastructure Through Cinematic Speculation

Abstract Bradbaori is a speculative architectural intervention and a thought experiment that attempts to repair the watershed in Los Angeles by reimagining the city’s famed landmark - the Bradbury Building – as a stepwell or baori. As climate change accelerates, Los Angeles is increasingly experiencing extreme swings between drought and heavy rainfall, a phenomenon scientists describe as hydroclimate whiplash (Lin II 2025). Intense storms follow periods of prolonged dryness, causing flood warnings and wildfire seasons. Yet much of this sudden influx of rainwater is lost as runoff, rushing through urban channels and out into the Pacific without being captured. The future of water access in Los Angeles is therefore directly tied to reconciling this drought-and-deluge cycle. Building resilience against hydroclimate whiplash requires rethinking how large-scale engineering and infrastructure projects engage the city’s watershed, shifting from reactive flood control measures like the concretization of the LA River, toward systems that can absorb, store, and steward water during moments of excess. Represented through a short film, Bradbaori is a worldbuilding research project that explores ways to build resilience.