Cicero, Illinois, 2011
Cicero, Illinois, 2011
Cicero, Illinois, 2011
Poplars, willows, and other phyto-accumulators would cleanse the soil around the former factory in as little as four to five years.
Diagram (part 1 of 3) showing how bungalows built in the 1920s for nuclear families no longer fit Cicero's current residents and are often subdivided into smaller units. The Garden in the Machine project proposes sorting their parts into a new, recombinant housing type that meets the needs of 21st-century families.
Diagram (part 2 of 3) showing how bungalows built in the 1920s for nuclear families no longer fit Cicero's current residents and are often subdivided into smaller units. The Garden in the Machine project proposes sorting their parts into a new, recombinant housing type that meets the needs of 21st-century families.
Diagram (part 3 of 3) showing how bungalows built in the 1920s for nuclear families no longer fit Cicero's current residents and are often subdivided into smaller units. The Garden in the Machine project proposes sorting their parts into a new, recombinant housing type that meets the needs of 21st-century families.
The nutrient-rich soil of newly cleansed industrial land is used to grow not only trees but food for residents. Functional wetlands treat municipal wastewater. Trees are deployed along rail lines to create regional wildlife corridors.
"Born-Again Factory": a foreclosed-upon factory would be transformed by plantings of trees and vegetation to cleanse the soil. As that process continued, the materials of the factory building would be salvaged, sorted, and recycled on-site into components for the new structures.
"Vertical Neighborhoods": (1 of 2) the concrete cores of the project's buildings contain utilities and circulation and constitute the primary vertical structure. Reclaimed trusses span the cores, forming a network of community spaces. Private live-and-work units are mounted above and below the trusses. Vertical Neighborhood units can be reconfigured as families come and go, shrink and grow.
"Vertical Neighborhoods": (2 of 2) the concrete cores of the project's buildings contain utilities and circulation and constitute the primary vertical structure. Reclaimed trusses span the cores, forming a network of community spaces. Private live-and-work units are mounted above and below the trusses. Vertical Neighborhood units can be reconfigured as families come and go, shrink and grow.
"Born-Again Factory": a foreclosed-upon factory would be transformed by plantings of trees and vegetation to cleanse the soil. As that process continued, the materials of the factory building would be salvaged, sorted, and recycled on-site into components for the new structures.
Site model, plan view
Diagram showing world migrations since 1785. Many inner-ring suburbs like Cicero have become gateways for new immigrants, a role traditionally played by large cities.
The Vertical Neighborhood architectural model
The Vertical Neighborhood architectural model
The Vertical Neighborhood architectural model
The Vertical Neighborhood architectural model
Rendering of vertical neighborhoods connected by a market and low-rise living and working units
Rendering of the shared courtyard. Residents enjoy access to a variety of gardens and outdoor spaces, including terraces, courtyards, plazas, markets, and allotment gardens.
Rendering of Studio Gang Architects' Garden in the Machine project for Cicero, Illinois