ARCH 371 JUNIOR DESIGN STUDIO PROJECT 2 PART A: ANALYSIS

PROJECT INTRODUCTION

Chicago is one of the most important infrastructural and cultural hubs in the country. It is a deeply engineered city, having raised its downtown street levels in the 19th century and reversed its river in the early 20th century to cleanse its main water source, Lake Michigan. It sits a the intersection of six Class I railroads, distributing goods nationwide that are increasingly purchased through e-commerce. One if its most iconic urban interventions is the L, an elevated passenger railway that connects the south, west, and north sides of the city. Within this infrastructural context, Chicago also has an unmistakable history in the arts, including music, theatre, modern dance, television, fashion design, public art, and international cuisines. This intersection of the infrastructural and the cultural will be at the core of your design proposal for Project 2.

Some of Chicago’s neighborhoods are defined by specific diasporas (like Chinatown or Devon Ave.) and others, like Albany Park, offer a lively mix of cultures and urban experiences. In Part A of this project, you will create two images: a map that analyzes your site in Albany Park, and a collage that represents Chicago as its larger cultural context. Your images will be informed by an in-person site visit, lectures from faculty and guest speakers, and your own research.

As a starting point, select a cultural lens from the list below, based on your own interests. This will be your guiding framework and theme for the semester.

• Music—jazz and blues (Muddy Waters and Buddy Guy loom large), hip-hop (Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco, Chance the Rapper…this is a long list), house music (which was invented in Chicago), rock genres (see Wilco and the Smashing Pumpkins for starters)

• Theatre—from Steppenwolf and The Goodman to the Albany Park Theater Project, and many examples in between

• Public Art—Chagall, Plensa, and Chicago-based artists in Albany Park to name a few

• Dance—including the Joffrey Ballet and Hubbard Street Dance

• Fashion—Maria Pinto, Azeeza, and Virgil Abloh are good examples to start with

• Television and Film—excellent venues across the city like the Gene Siskel Film Center and Facets; numerous TV shows and films are also set here

• Literature—novels and plays set and written in Chicago, including The Jungle, Sister Carrie, Native Son, Crossing California, The House on Mango Street, Glengarry Glen Ross, and many others

• Poetry and spoken word performance—Gwendolyn Brooks, Carl Sandburg, The Breakbeat Poets

• Culinary arts and diasporas—from Michelin-starred restaurants to popular neighborhood fare

FIELD TRIP ITINERARY: WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2021

What to bring

• Sketchbook and writing/sketching materials

• Phone and charger

• Mask

• Comfortable walking shoes

• Sweater or jacket (something light, just in case—it’s supposed to be in the mid-70s that day)

• Pre-packed lunch and dinner, or money for two meals; also, light snacks like granola bars might be useful in between meals. There are plenty of inexpensive meal options both downtown and near our site

• Water bottle

Arrival in Chicago

• Those arriving by car, please plan to figure out parking ahead of time in the city. My recommendation would be to park for the day downtown, and travel up to the site by CTA with the group.

• Those arriving by Amtrak, plan to take the 6:10 AM train leaving Champaign, which will get you in to Union Station by about 9:15 AM (likely earlier if the train is running normally). Professor Bross will be leading a walking tour of important urban sites starting at 9:30 AM from the north entrance of the Field Museum, which you are welcome to join. If you prefer to see the sights on your own, I recommend Crown Fountain, Millennium Park, Lurie Garden, the Art Institute, and the Chicago Architecture Center (see downtown map below). If you’d like to see exhibits at the museum or center, your student ID will get you a discounted ticket.

Group meeting

• We will meet as a group at 12:30 PM at the Washington and Wells Brown Line Station. Please make sure you have had lunch before we meet. If you want to get an interesting (and casual) culinary experience nearby, I recommend the French Market.

• We will meet on the platform for the train heading to Kimball. You will need either a Ventra Card or a single-ride pass to take the L, which are available from vending machines at the station.

Site visit

• We will arrive at the site a little after 1PM. We will do a structured tour together for the first part of the visit, after which you will have time on your own to explore and document the site and neighborhood. I will have printed site maps for you to make notes on, along with instructions about what to document. You will translate these observations onto your digital site analysis map later.

• At 4PM, we will break. You will have time to pick up dinner from any of the local spots (see food map below). We will meet again at 5PM at River Trail Plaza (where Lawrence Ave. meets the Chicago River). Here we can eat together and have a group discussion about the site and project. You can go directly from here back to the train, which will take you downtown in time to catch the 8PM Amtrak if needed.

SCHEDULE

Wednesday September 8

• Site visit in Chicago

Friday September 10

• Zoom lecture at 1PM by Carson Poole (meeting ID 856 5646 9613, password 291759)

• Submit in-progress images by 5PM on Box

Monday September 13

• In-person desk crits, work day

Wednesday September 15

• Asynchronous work day

• Optional submissions by 5PM on Box

Friday September 17

• In-person pin-up—drawings to be printed

• Project 2 Part B assigned

RESOURCES

• Field trip permission letter: Download PDF

• Site Satellite Image (from Google Earth): Download JPEG

• Site CAD File (reinsert satellite image if needed using XREF command): Download DWG

• Aerial views of site: Download Image 1 and Image 2

• North River Commission: Our Great Rivers in Albany Park

• City of Chicago Zoning Map

• Zoning Specifications and Setbacks

• Site Bulk and Density Standards (maximum height regulations)

• City of Chicago Transportation Maps

• American Indian Center

• Global Garden

• Hibbard Elementary School and Theodore Roosevelt High School

• Neighborhood demographic information (CMAP)

• Image references and inspirations: Dada collages, Etienne Gelinas, Andrew Stokols, Lateral Office

DELIVERABLES: DUE FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 17

Site analysis map: 24x36 landscape format (use prepared layout in CAD file)

• Streets and sidewalks

• Public transportation routes and nodes (like stations and bus stops)

• Major bicycle and pedestrian routes

• Green spaces and water

• Building and land use (residential or commercial blocks can be shown as blocks rather than individual buildings)

• Zoning district, allowable uses for zoning district, maximum allowable floor area ratio, allowable gross area for our site (you will need to calculate the area of site), maximum allowable building height, and minimum setback distances

• Cultural landmarks, schools, religious institutions, and other sites of importance

• Demographic information

• Personal observations from site visit, diagrammed onto map

Collage: 24x36 landscape format (digital or hand-made)

• Create a generative collage showing people, objects, spaces, and/or ideas associated with your chosen cultural lens for Chicago. You may include your own sketches, texture rubbings, or found items from the site. Remember, your project will ultimately be about the intersection of infrastructure and culture in Chicago—use that idea to help structure your image. Think about color, form, and composition on the page in addition to the image content.