Author Mike Davis is an advisor and collaborator in much of the urban research estudio teddy cruz engages at the US / Mexico border. In an effort to impact the politics of discriminating zoning in San Diego, he commissioned a provocation prototype, the retrofitting of his existing garage into his library and writing studio, a model for advancing density in the mid-city. The project explores a formal organization that breaks the generic mass of a building into a series of interstitial spaces / environments that accommodate a variety of uses, mediating between inside and outside. A light material “sleeping porch”, installed on top of the transformed garage, structurally recuperates a forgotten typology appropriate to Southern California’s climate, but discouraged by policy requirements. This form is one of several that explore a series of tactics of alteration that can be conceived of as “plug-ins” into the homogeneity of the existing suburban fabric, suggesting the incremental densification of the standard single-family residence / detached dwelling. Programmatically, the different pieces that comprise this project are arranged in such a way that the structure also can serve as an extra live / work unit.