Introduction
New City is a historic neighborhood of Chicago. Once home to the famous Stock Yards and its workers, this community is now mainly home to Mexican-American families. Because of the neighborhood's industrial past, and the resulting industrial zoning that continues to border residential areas, community amenities like libraries and tree canopy are difficult to access in many places.
With this building proposal, I expand upon the idea that a public library is a place of community connection, and draw inspiration form my research about parks and tree canopy in Chicago; this results in a design where I enclose the site in a greenhouse-like structure to create an indoor park.
Research
Historical Precedent Studies
Formal Exploration and Iteration
Plans and Sections
Takeaway
This project focuses on the research stage of the design process. I put my energy into gaining a deep understanding of the history and the context at multiple scales. To do this, I Learned GIS tools to obtain accurate contextual information, and to have the ability to represent what I found. I also researched historical precedents of successful architecture related to my project. It became clear to me though this process that a comprehensive foundation of research is imperative in a successful design project because, with that, I was able to: design for the needs of the users, make a project that is sensitive to the context, and uplift the neighborhood and people for which it was designed.