So What IS this thing???

So after spending almost a month to research the neighborhood and define a basic program direction, we were faced with a horrifying assignment--all that stuff you just did, now make it into a building.  Yikes!  The jump from what you know, to what you want to do, to how you are going to do it is always a nervous endeavor.

For some reason you always feel compelled to have the right answer right away, and forget that it's all about iteration and process.  Of course, designers always forget this because we tend to throw out all the ideas that didn't work without recognizing that there are usually diamond-in-the-rough strokes of genius hidden in their implausible, uninformed, or ugly exteriors.

The following images document the sting of head-scratcher moments I had in developing my program and building into a project with an attitude and an objective.

It's always easier to start with what you know, even if that is nothing.

My first piece of clarity.  And therefore my first assertion.

As a distribution-centric project, what goes in and what goes out is an important aspect to define.  The social hub pulls people in, and the commercial network ensures that growth perpetuates within the community.  Without both, community development is unsustainable.  To tie in greater ideas of sustainability, this attitude was expanded; the project should soak up local resources--in the form of labor, recycled building materials, expertise, drive, and culture. 

Sponges soak up everything around them.

So do roots.

Soaking up resources also extends to the idea of passive energy strategies.  Sculpting the building geometry to make the best use of available daylighting and natrual ventilation harnesses the resources around the building rather than piping in energy sources from remote sites.

Removing materials from the waste stream is a key aspect of sustainable building in my opinion.  Too often we focus only on passive lighting and cooling/heating strategies, which is great, but the "greenest" construction is no construction.  Therefore, I am aiming to reuse building materials when possible.

I produced a conceptual statement for sustainable strategies that were in keeping with the idea of the idea of soaking up resources without simply tacking something onto the side or top of the building.  Highlighted here are rainwater catchment, solar mass heating (could also be PV/solar power), and geo-exchange passive heating/cooling. 

A conceptual statement about sustainability.

At the same time, we had to choose which of the two sites we wanted for our projects.  Though they are basically in the same location, they differ both in size/scale and orientation.

Each student had a choice of one of two sites to locate their projects.

In analyzing the two sites, I was initially discouraged by the smaller size of Site 1.  However, Site 1 had a clear advantage in that the building orientation that would facilitate passive daylighting would also allow a higher transparency in the building on the 43rd St. frontage.

Site analysis comparing views and access with daylighting, shading, and wind direction.

Despite my initial hesitance with Site 1, its more compact and urban attitude fit in nicely with my concept of using and wasting less, and I was happy with my decision.  Having chosen my site, I then used the solar geometry to try to intuit a basic building geometry/setback.

Stepping East to West will create the least amount of shading on the site.

But what goes into the building is not the whole story; just as important is the ability for the center to generate goods, services, and knowledge that can go into the community.  In conceptualizing this, the image of the dandelion came to mind.  The plant produces seeds like any other, but its progeny is spread in a very distributive and mobile manner.

Taken the the natural conclusion, this idea of progeny could suggest a physical means to have the center grow and expand, planting the seeds for future projects where they are next needed most.  (Disclaimer: the following two images are not my own.)

Seed/spore (re-)generational growth model.

It definitely helped me to start thinking of my educational component in terms of both a filling up (sponge concept) and a flowing out (seed concept).  The program would attract local or regional talent for teaching as well as underemployed or homeless residents as students.

The basic education program would then filter through the rest of the program, offering students experience in both restaurant and catering kitchens as well as experience on the ground assisting in distribution and outreach endeavors.  In this way, those who receive are always giving back.  From there, graduates can either find job placement or continue their education to prepare to open up their own businesses, hopefully rooted in Bronzeville.


By the end of this conceptualization, the ideas of diverting building materials from the waste stream, of modular and generative growth, and of distribution and mobility coalesced into one conceptual unit: the ISO standard shipping container.

More to come!