ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN AND URBANISM ARCH 371 (Dharwadker/E2) Junior Design Studio, Fall 2023, CRN 71852 MW 1:00-5:50PM Architecture Building Room 200, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
PHASE 1: NEIGHBORHOOD PORTRAIT
PROMPT
As a team (groups assigned by instructor), collaborate to produce a diptych of two (2) site analysis drawings that collectively provide a lively portraiture of the project site and surrounding neighborhood. One panel of the diptych will project a “top down” analytic survey, while the other panel of the diptych will depict a “bottom up” personal and experiential approach. Both panels should be highly populated and animated with human (and nonhuman) life.
Site Location: Parking lot adjacent to the Kimball Brown Line Station, Chicago IL
DELIVERABLES
“Top Down” Portrait: Analytical Oblique Drawing, 36" x 36" printed sheet
Create a museum-quality drawing that documents, analyzes, and illustrates contextual patterns, pressures, and influences that converge at the project site (see possible categories of study on the following page). Consider oblique projection techniques including cabinet projection, cavalier projection, plan oblique, elevation oblique, and transoblique. Also consider an oblique drawing that leverages multiple oblique projection angles.
“Bottom Up” Portrait: Perspectival Drawing / Illustration / Comic Strip, 36" x 36" printed sheet
Create a museum-quality drawing that portrays and illustrates the personality, atmosphere, and humanity of life in the neighborhood, centered at the assigned site, from a human, perspectival vantage point. Think of the drawing as a “day in the life” of the site. Consider perspectival drawing techniques including a collage of multiple vignettes, or a perspectival assemblage with multiple vanishing points, for example.
Physical Site Massing Model (parameters TBD)
CATEGORIES OF STUDY
Consider the following categories of site analysis study. Your drawings do NOT need to represent all of these categories comprehensively. Choose a topical focus for each drawing that highlights attributes that your team believe are most important to the site’s character, operation, and identity.
1. Building occupancy / density patterns, including usage at ground floor and upper floors (e.g. retail, office, residential, institutional, parks), and zoning research (maximum allowable FAR, building heights, setback distances, and open space requirements).
2. Massing patterns, including building heights, ground surfaces, pavement shapes, and relationships between publicly and privately accessible spaces/surfaces.
3. Transportation & circulation patterns, including public transit (CTA rail and bus), bicycles (including Divvy bike share), and vehicular traffic patterns (direction and relative amounts).
4. Environmental patterns, including light and shadow, vegetated surfaces, flora, fauna and wildlife.
5. Demographic patterns, including distribution of age, race, socioeconomics, and ethnic affiliations. Check out Social Explorer (via UIUC Library Database) and U.S. Census Data, for example.
6. Cultural patterns, including hubs for specific ethnic communities, neighborhood festivals, public art, music, theater, and other arts-related organizations and initiatives.
7. Culinary patterns, including restaurants, street vendors, grocery stores, mutual aid, and temporary markets.
8. Material patterns, including building materials, signage, typography, colors, and textures.
PRECEDENTS: ARCHITECTS URBANISTS, AND ARTISTS
Bernard Tschumi: The Manhattan Transcripts, excerpts
“An Evaluation of the Works of Mario Gandelsonas,” Simeon Grew
Bureau Spectacular: Museum Attachment in Kaohsiung
The Open Workshop: Commune Prototypes
The Open Workshop: Housing for New Family Forms
FILES
Albany Park Site and Neighborhood CAD File Download
Base Rhino file from CAD Mapper Download (also on class Box folder)
Lecture Slides: Axonometric Projection Download
Lecture Slides: Oblique Projection Download
Lecture Slides: Axon and Oblique Comparison Download
INFORMATION AND DATA
Albany Park Historical Information Link
Albany Park Neighbors Organization Link
Albany Park Facade Photos (hi-res) Link
Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) Data Link
Chicago Park District Cultural Asset Mapping Project Link
City of Chicago Zoning Map Link
City of Chicago Zoning Ordinance Link
City of Chicago Data Link
North River Commission Link
Open Street Map Link