Ecological Spatial UrbanismThesis by: Benjie Morillo

Accepted in Partial Fulfi llment of the RequirementsFor the Degree of Master of Architecture

atThe Savannah College of Art and Design

_______________________________________________________________________________/__/__Scott Dietz DateCommittee Chair

_______________________________________________________________________________/__/__Samuel Olin DateCommittee Member 1

_______________________________________________________________________________/__/__Jo Hickson DateCommittee Member 2

Ecological Spatial Urbanism

A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the School of Building Artsin Partial Fulfi llment of the Requirements for the

Degree of Master of ArchitectureSavannah College of Art and Design

By

Peter Benjamin Albert B MorilloSavannah, GA

June, 2011

This book is dedicated to:my mother and brother,

ducky,martha and terry,

classmatesand all my professors.

Table of Contents

Part 1 - General Principles 1

Abstract

Landscape

Desire for Nature

Destruction of Nature

Place of Uniqueness

Vertical Gardens

Constructed Wetlands

Vertical Farming

Need for Evolution

Ecological Spatial Urbanism

Part 2 - Context Analysis and Regional Description 19

Spatial City

Case Studies

Multiple Site Possibilities

Downtown Chicago

Economy

Local Programs

Commercial

Demographics

Streeterville

Part 3 - Site Analysis 41

Sun and Wind

Chicago Land Use

South Chicago

Macro Analysis

Micro Analysis

Part 4 - Program Analysis 59

Evolving Programs

Human Scale

Street to City to Spatial City

Frame and Landscape

Vertical and Horizontal

Evolution Through Time

City to Skyscraper

Macro Zoning Program Analysis

The Destination

Public Buildings, Trails, and Parks

Modulating Service Connections

Lot Divisions

Commercial Buid Lots

Modular Farming

Circulation and Transportation

Ground Activation Program

Part 5 - Quantitative Program Development 95

No Development

Maximum Development

Support Programs

Part 6 - Schematic Building Design 101

Three Planes

Build Plane

Ecological Plane

Digital Model

Farming Module

Part 7 - Design Development 121

Site

Reclamation Plan

Diagrams

3D Model

Elevations

Levels

Details

Renderings

Conclusion

Ecological Spatial Urbanism

Peter Benjamin Albert B Morillo

June, 2011

The goal is to explore the importance of landscape and ecology for people, urban community and individuality, and the combination of the best ideas of an ideal urban street and establish it in the format of a skyscraper. The mega structure will then refl ect a landscape frame and modular spaces within this framework will be designed by its inhabitants. Technological and biological systems within the tower will

provide a infrastructure to promote healthy living and ecological preservation.

1

General Principlespart 1

2

Abstract

People have occupied the landscape for two

hundred thousand years, from living inside caves to

building skyscrapers. People have conquered and

expanded territory, claiming nature in the process.

During the industrial era, skyscrapers reached for the

clouds, vehicles reached for the horizons, and drills

reached for cheap energy. As population increases,

pressure on land development increases. We have

allowed ourselves to claim land and call it our own.

We gathered precious non-renewable resources

and consumed them for the comfort of large spaces.

We built cars that allow us to travel through the land

to function in our daily lives. We have moved away

from the supposedly “undesired” cities to the more

quiet, peaceful and supposedly “natural” suburbs,

which generally become the exact opposite of

nature. Nature has to step aside while farmlands

spread across the landscape to feed people. As

population numbers rise and non-renewable

resources are depleted, ideas for sustainable living

are increasing. One concept is to combine the best

ideas of the ideal urban street and establish it in the

format of a skyscraper. The skyscraper will then

refl ect a landscape frame and modular spaces within

this framework will be designed by its inhabitants.

Technological and biological systems within the

tower will provide a infrastructure to promote healthy

living and ecological preservation.

Fig 1.1

Fig 1.2

3

Landscape

Landscape is essential for life. If the world was

covered in concrete, we will not have a place to farm

food. Land is where we set our feet on and feel

comfortably grounded to. Landscapes are determined

by two axes that we use to identify our position in the

world.1 The unfortunate thing is that landscape is

not infi nite; although there is a lot of it, we can run

out of it. Preserving landscape is something people

need to take in seriously. Landscape is defi ned in

several ways. The dictionary defi nes it as a section

or expanse of rural scenery, usually extensive, that

can be seen from a single point of view, a panoramic

view of a scenery, or a vista; it may be a picture

representing natural inland or coastal scenery or

any category of aesthetic subject matter in which

natural scenery is represented.2 Michel Desvigne

describes landscape as always heavily marked by

the practices and natural structures that exist or

that existed and never a blank page from which the

unexpected will spring.3 Henry David Thoreau,

an American author and poet, notes that almost

all of man’s improvements such as the building of

houses and the cutting down of the forest and large

trees have deformed the landscape and made it

more and more tame and cheap. “Earth provides

a self-regulating bubble that sustains us indefi nitely

without any thought or contrivance on our own. This

protective shield is the biosphere, the totality of life,

creator of all air, cleaner of all water, manager of

all soil, but itself a fragile membrane that barely 1 Anna Lambertini, Mario Ciampi, and Jacques Leenhardt, Vertical Gardens (London: Verba Volant, 2007), 9.2 “Landscape | Defi ne Landscape at Dictionary.com.” Diction-ary.com | Find the Meanings and Defi nitions of Words at Dictionary.com. Web. 06 Nov. 2010. <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/landscape>.3 Gilles A. Tiberghien, Michel Desvigne, and James Corner, Intermediate Natures the Landscapes of Michel Desvigne (Basel: Birkhäuser, 2009), 63.

clings to the face of the planet. Upon its delicate

health we depend for every moment of our lives.”4

Developing cities usually means clearing land and

vegetations. Clearing land and vegetation means

destroying natural wildlife habitat that may have

been in existence for probably tens or thousands of

years. The impact of human colonization can be

lessened by providing refuge for wildlife.

In the United States, it remains a challenge to

overcome the polar distinction between what is

“urban” and what is “natural”. Perhaps because

of the expansiveness of our ecological resources

and land base, we have tended to see the most

signifi cant forms of nature as occurring somewhere

else – often hundreds of miles away from where

most people actually live – in national parks, national

seashores, and wilderness areas.5

4 Wilson, Edward O.. Th e creation: an appeal to save life on earth (New York: Norton, 2006), 27.5 Timothy Beatley, Green Urbanism: Learning from Euro-pean Cities (Washington, DC: Island, 2000).

4

Desire for Nature

“Nature is that part of the original environment and

its life forms that remains after the human impact.

Nature is all on planet Earth that has no need of us

and can stand alone.”1

“The destructive power of Homo sapiens has no

limit, even though our biomass is almost invisibly

small. It is mathematically possible to log-stack all

the people on Earth into a single block of one cubic

mile and lower them out of sight in a remote part of

the Grand Canyon.”2

People look at nature as a refuge from the concrete

pavement that we drive on every day. From the

beginning of time, we, as human beings, have

strived to make life easier, better, and richer. In the

process, we have created countless things that are

way beyond the comprehension of a single human

being. One particular thing we have achieved is the

mass production of automobiles and cheap gasoline.

Combine this technology with almost infi nite cheap

landscape and urban sprawl is achieved. Even

though people try to live in the country, most

often than not, there is a hard borderline between

farmlands and buildings. Michel Desvigne explains,

1 Wilson, Edward O.. Th e creation: an appeal to save life on earth (New York: Norton, 2006), 152 Wilson, Edward O.. Th e creation: an appeal to save life on earth (New York: Norton, 2006), 29

“The usual catastrophe of the city outskirts is

embodied in that terrible line separating the housing

environment from the vast swathes of land that were

created by the consolidation of lots and are used for

modern-day extensive farming.”3 There is a lack of

direct connection between the natural environment

and the housing developments that are, in most

cases, fenced in.

“At the dawn of the twenty-fi rst-century, metropolitan

America has sprawled far beyond the wildest

imaginings.”4 Suburbia is an attempt to create a

country estate that people love to live in. It advertises

as a healthy, beautiful, protected, and far from the

dense crowd and noise pollution of the city center.

However, the suburbs are changing because of the

growing diversity that has moved and permeated to

it. Some suburbs become unsafe and far different

from the initial ideal place. Through time, suburbs

age and diversity sets in resulting in problems that

were once thought of as exclusively ‘urban’ such as

crime, vandalism, disinvestment, and blight.5 3 Gilles A. Tiberghien, Michel Desvigne, and James Corner. Intermediate Natures the Landscapes of Michel Desvigne (Basel: Birkhäuser, 2009), 63.4 Rutherford H. Platt, Th e Humane Metropolis: People and Nature in the 21st-century City (Amherst: University of Massachusetts in Association with Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, Cambridge, 2006), 8.5 Rutherford H. Platt, Th e Humane Metropolis: People and Nature in the 21st-century City (Amherst: University of Massachusetts in Association with Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, Cambridge, 2006), 10-11.

Fig 1.3

5

Suburbs grew from 55 million residents in 1950 to

more than 141 million in 2000 and are now home

to more than one-half of the entire U.S. population.

Most metropolitan areas today are expanding

spatially much more quickly than they are adding

population. Between 1982 and 1997, the total extent

of urbanized areas, as delineated by the Bureau of the

Census, increased by 47 percent while the nation’s

population grew by only 17 percent. Between 1950

and 2000, suburbs tripled in population while central

cities collectively gained only 73 percent. Even this

comparison understates the actual shift away from

older cities toward suburbs.1

Central cities have stopped growing due to the

relocation of jobs out of the downtown areas toward

the suburban areas. People living in downtown

areas with jobs in the suburbs create a daily reverse

commute. The places where the commercial jobs

1 Rutherford H. Platt, Th e Humane Metropolis: People and Nature in the 21st-century City (Amherst: University of Massachusetts in Association with Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, Cambridge, 2006), 8-9.

are located are called “edge cities” or “mushburbs”.

They are often found in major interstate exits for easy

vehicular access. The edge cities would be composed

of retail spaces, commercial, entertainment centers,

hotels and some residential spaces. It is estimated

that “edge cities in 1991 contained two-thirds of all

U.S. offi ce space, thus eclipsing conventional urban

downtowns.”2 One difference between edge cities

and actual towns is that edge cities lack the public

infrastructure that creates a community. Edge city

growth is based on private vehicular transportation

and usually lacks pedestrian access. With the

commercial and residential spaces spreading thinly

across the landscape, it is expensive to create a

suffi cient public transportation system because of

the lack of users. People give up all the necessities

of living in cities and prefer long commutes home.

It is also usually diffi cult to fi nd a home in a dense

city environment, where most people see home as

someplace unique and identity driven.

2 Rutherford H. Platt, Th e Humane Metropolis: People and Nature in the 21st-century City (Amherst: University of Massachusetts in Association with Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, Cambridge, 2006), 12.

Fig 1.4

6

Destruction of Nature

As we sprawl across the land, we kill a large number

of species that are home to these areas. “Now when

you cut a forest, an Ancient Forest in particular, you

are not just removing a lot of big trees and a few birds

fl uttering around in the canopy. You are removing or

drastically imperiling a vast array of species even

within a few square miles of you. The number of

these species may go to tens of thousands. Many of

them, the very smallest of them, are still unknown to

science, and science has not yet discovered the key

role undoubtedly played in the maintenance of that

ecosystem, as in the case of fungi, microorganisms,

and many of the insects.”1

1 “SECOND PAGE: E.O. WILSON SLIDE SHOW, SAVE AMERICA’S FORESTS.” Save America’s Forests. http://www.saveameri-casforests.org/wilson/second.htm (accessed April 20, 2011).

Place of Uniqueness

The concept of uniqueness is often amorphous

and very diffi cult to express when it concerns a

specifi c place. Throughout the world, however, exist

places which people categorize as unique and the

mention of them brings forth a mental image or an

imagined character.”1 To create a place for people,

designers cannot impose a foreign character, but

rather develop the character that is in existence.

When this concept is applied to small towns, it will

create a unique character and this enables the place

to grow and change. The communities that are

growing and changing in today’s commercial world

have introduced sameness that can erode individual

qualities of a place and destroy its unique spirit. A

designer must comprehend function and how people

use the space. What activities happen and when

1 Harry Launce Garnham, Maintaining the Spirit of Place: a Guidebook for Citizen/professional Participation in the Preservation and Enhancement of Small Texas Towns (College Station, Tx.: Texas A & M University Printing Center, 1976), 6.

they happen are essential topics to understand a

site.2 The cultural activities that are developed in the

town refl ects people’s interaction with the landscape

during its evolution. Walter Gropius describes a

town “as a living organism, subject to continuous

change but with a basic structure generated by

the character of life of its populations, constituting

its identity; its growth cannot be left to change but

should be consciously developed and controlled

by act of will and that the fi nal aim of successful

planning is to raise the standard of town life, thereby

expressing practically and aesthetically the pride of

its inhabitants.”3

2 Harry Launce Garnham, Maintaining the Spirit of Place: a Guidebook for Citizen/professional Participation in the Preservation and Enhancement of Small Texas Towns (College Station, Tx.: Texas A & M University Printing Center, 1976), 21. 3 Harry Launce Garnham, Maintaining the Spirit of Place: a Guidebook for Citizen/professional Participation in the Preservation and Enhancement of Small Texas Towns (College Station, Tx.: Texas A & M University Printing Center, 1976), 21.

7

Fig 1.5

8

Vertical Gardens

Vertical gardens technology is similar to vertical

farm technologies. The only difference is getting an

aesthetically pleasing psychological response being

in a garden, instead of harvesting food to provide

for a physical or physiological need. Gardens and

farming is almost a great combination because

it becomes a place of connection with nature.

Plants are vertical by nature. Vertical Gardens

describes “the roots of verticality to be found in

the principles of life itself; through its relationship

involving photosynthesis, the growth of vegetation

is essentially determined by the search for light.”1

The cities today are always trying to bring back

areas for nature to grow, such as parks, to help 1 Anna Lambertini, Mario Ciampi, and Jacques Leenhardt, Vertical Gardens (London: Verba Volant, 2007), 11.

reduce the carbon dioxide from dense traffi c and

also reduce the heat island effect. Vegetations

can be incorporated into architectural elements in

several different ways. It can be planted directly

onto the walls that have pockets with soil for roots

to grow, or it can be a vine that crawls up to form a

natural mesh. However, incorporating these vertical

plants onto a wall has little natural context especially

when done as a garden art. “A green or plant wall

constitutes a particular facet of verticality in garden

art. It has the unusual characteristics of being

developed separately from a garden in areas that

have no natural green context. It is an urban and

architectural element.”2

2 Anna Lambertini, Mario Ciampi, and Jacques Leenhardt, Vertical Gardens (London: Verba Volant, 2007), 13.

Fig 1.6 Vertical Garden

9

Constructed Wetland System

Constructed Wetland System, also called Greywater

Biofi ltration system removes pollutants from

greywater that comes from sinks, baths, or clothes

washing. Wastewater is treated by the processes

of sedimentation, fi ltration, digestion, oxidation,

reduction, adsorption and precipitation. The system

will have wetland plants as well as micro organisms

that thrive in wetland environments which break

down pathogens, bacteria, and non-biodegradable

toxins that could potentially reach surface waters

causing pollutions. “Typically greywater does

contain nitrate, phosphate, soaps, salt, bacteria,

bleach, foam, food particles, organic matter,

suspended solids, perfumes and dye.”1 Greywater

fi ltration systems can also prevent bad odors from

pooling stagnant water. It prevents nutrient overload 1 Yocum, Dayna. “Design Manual: Greywater Biofi ltration Constructed Wetland System.” Bren School of Environmental Science and Management. University of California, Santa Barbara, n.d. Web. 24 May 2011. <fi esta.bren.ucsb.edu/~chiapas2/Water%20Manage-ment_fi les/Greywater%20Wetlands-1.pdf>

of surface waters.

Maintenance of greywater wetlands is very

limited. The depth of the water must be adjusted

to encourage the roots of the plants to grow.

Vegetation must be properly removed when wilted

and replaced. The mesh in the inlet and outlet must

be cleaned periodically to prevent clogging. Water

must be monitored for nutrient and BOD levels.

Common problems of this system include clogging

and overfl owing. There are typically sediments in

the water that accumulate over time and potentially

clogs the pipes and prevents the water to fl ow. This

can be prevented by installing screens at the pipe

inlet. The wetlands may also overfl ow during a

storm, but can be regulated through proper drainage

through the outlet pipes.

Fig 1.7 Greywater System

10

Vertical Farming

According to The Vertical Farm, nearly 80% of the

earth’s population will be concentrated in urban

centers by the year 2050 and the most conservative

estimates of the human population show an increase

of about 3 billion people in less than 50 years.1 This

means that we will need to fi nd more land for people

to grow food in. With nature diminishing because of

the farmlands that carpet the landscape as shown

in (fi g ?), a solution then is to plan vertically (fi g ?):

the vertical farm. Although it is not a new idea to

grow produce indoors in a controlled environment,

the challenge is how to be able to do it on a large

scale to accommodate the rising population.

An entirely new approach to indoor farming must be

invented, employing cutting edge technologies. The

Vertical Farm must be effi cient (cheap to construct

and safe to operate). Vertical farms, many stories

high, will be situated in the heart of the world’s urban

centers. If successfully implemented, they offer the

promise of urban renewal, sustainable production

of a safe and varied food supply (year-round crop

production), and the eventual repair of ecosystems

that have been sacrifi ced for horizontal farming.2

There are several great advantages from this

concept. The following are listed from The Vertical

Farming website:

•Year-round crop production

•Eliminates agricultural runoff 1 Th e Vertical Farm Project - Agriculture for the 21st Century and Beyond | Www.verticalfarm.com. Web. 16 Nov. 2010. <http://www.verticalfarm.com/more>.2 Th e Vertical Farm Project - Agriculture for the 21st Century and Beyond | Www.verticalfarm.com. Web. 16 Nov. 2010. <http://www.verticalfarm.com/more>.

•Signifi cantly reduces use of fossil fuels (farm

machines and transport of crops)

•Makes use of abandoned or unused properties

•No weather related crop failures

•Offers the possibility of sustainability for urban

centers

•Converts black and gray water to drinking water

•Adds energy back to the grid via methane

generation

•Creates new urban employment opportunities

•Reduces the risk of infection from agents

transmitted at the agricultural interface

•Returns farmland to nature, helping to restore

ecosystem functions and services

•Controls vermin by using restaurant waste for

methane generation

When farming becomes vertical in a highrise

environment, this will impact the way surrounding

context is developed to ensure the agricultural

spaces are well lit from the sun. Guidelines must be

set on these such as how tall surrounding buildings

are depending on its orientation to the sun and

other considerations to ensure productivity and

desirability of the area. Farming, and especially

community farming, typically brings community and

social value up in the area, not just because of fresh

local produce, but also the experience of increasing

bond by sharing a public garden with a neighbor.

11

Fig 1.8 Farming

12

Need for Evolution

From birth, the skyscraper has evolved signifi cantly

into different forms and styles. Skyscrapers, just

like living organisms, have even tried to evolve into

fantastic futuristic ideas with the help of futurists,

avant-garde architects and artists. But nature –

or rather technology, feasibility, human culture

and taste – prevented them to evolve. Today, the

big issue is the climate change due to the over

consumption of natural materials, particularly the

thirst of human infrastructures for energy that we

acquire through non-renewable resources. “Broadly

speaking, the industrial application of fossil fuels in

the nineteenth century set the developing world on a

path of seeing nature as a resource for consumption

rather than conservation and restoration. Rapidly

urbanizing cities established parks and limited

natural systems within their borders as symbols of

nature while broadly exploiting nature elsewhere as

a source of energy.”1.

Tall structures can eventually become a landscape

of spaces/cities. Skyscrapers will not just be another

building in an urban context, but rather an urban

context within an urban context. Buildings will merge

with one another or merge with the landscape to

create a more functional environment for the

1 Scott Johnson, Tall Building: Imagining of the Skyscraper (Glendale, Calif: Balcony, 2008), 108.

inhabitants and urbanism more humanized in scale.

“Ground based structures would not necessarily

shift, but new labyrinths of circulation could develop,

change, and disappear in response to social

demands. Floors would become obsolete. Rather,

we would have to make distinctions based on

contiguous spaces, or devise a sub neighborhood

category equivalent to the street.”2

“Historically, the skyscraper has been a vertical

extrusion of similarly inhabited fl oors. Implicit in the

concept of tall is the omnipresence of gravity as both

a structural force as well as a force to be overcome

to achieve accessibility. While the horizontal space

symbolizes a kind of sociable and barrier free

access, vertically organized space typically presents

obstacles to movement and visibility, separating

activity on one fl oor from the next. Horizontal space

is epitomized as fl exibility, organizable into shade

of public, semi-private and private, while a vertical

extrusion of similar fl oor plates implies privacy and

separation.”3

2 ”Parametric Architectural Concept Development | Th e Archi Studio.” Koh Samui, Architect Design Service, 3dInterior Design, Construction, Renovation, Animation. 4 Aug. 2010. Web. 18 Apr. 2011.<http://www.thearchistudio.com/3d‐showcase/3d‐render‐3d‐visualiza-tion/parametric‐skyscraper‐conceptdevelopment.html>. 3 Scott Johnson, Tall Building: Imagining of the Skyscraper (Glendale, Calif: Balcony, 2008), 58.

13

Fig 1.9 Evolution of a City

14

Ecological Spatial Urbanism

There is a common idea of trying to put urbanism into

the vertical skyscraper. The concept of hybridizing

skyscrapers and urbanism is one of the evolving

types of skyscrapers today. However, these design

seems to still be creating private and cul-de-sac

scenarios once you read the top fl oors. There is

also little emphasis on Ecological Issues that urban

sprawl is creating and other issues such as food

sources being far away from central cities. Systems

such as wetland biofi ltration, ecological trails, travel

distances, street experience, community farming,

and healthy community connections interactions,

connections to existing context and/or other

skyscrapers must be addressed and incorporated

into the design.

The framework of the ecological spatial vertical

landscape is a key element and must be invented

from the combination of skyscraper technology

and landscape relationship to people, adapting

and creating culture through community and self-

individuality. The project must evolve through

phases in time, able to change its environmental

character during seasons, and changing its physical

and cultural character throughout the years. Farming

shall be the initial use of the framework to provide for

the surrounding communities. The spaces will initially

provide food for the surrounding neighborhood then

eventually provide for the skyscrapers’ inhabitants.

Spaces are divided three-dimensionally in the

skyscraper allowing for designated public spaces

and buildable spaces for businesses and residents

to occupy and inhabit the spaces. The spaces and

architectural style are not defi ned by the frame, but

rather from local architects, urban designers, and

landscape architects working for the clients and for

the community. As the years pass, the skyscraper

will evolve more, creating a community and culture

within itself. Culture is defi ned as the sum total of

ways of living built up by a group of human beings

and transmitted from one generation to another.1

“Certain changes in agricultural practices can be

studied to support other types of solutions. But

above all we must create a place to develop, and we

must set up a structural frame for this city.”2 In the

future, we cannot bind our cities to the ground and

there is no important reason why we have to. The

higher spaces is our a new areas for urbanization

ans must be planned well. The idea is that cities will

not be developed building by building in the ground,

but rather in a spatial frame. As earth’s species,

we have evolved and must evolve to survive in

the changing time, and as we notice a change in

the landscapes horizon, evolution seen though

theoretical visions are schemed.

1 “Culture | Defi ne Culture at Dictionary.com.” Dictionary.com | Find the Meanings and Defi nitions of Words at Dictionary.com. Web. 16 Nov. 2010. <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/culture>.2 Gilles A. Tiberghien, Michel Desvigne, and James Corner, Intermediate Natures the Landscapes of Michel Desvigne (Basel: Birkhäuser, 2009), 38.

15

Fig 1.10 Spatial Urbanism

16

Fig 1.1 http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/0710/MilkyWayRoad_landolfi .jpg

Fig 1.2 http://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/images/sts-097_kidstation_project2000_earth_night.jpg

Fig 1.3 http://www.dontpaniconline.com/magazine/myth/erik-johansson

Fig 1.4 http://www.lasmogtown.com/?cat=108

Fig 1.5 http://browse.deviantart.com/?qh=section=&q=self+identity#/d1724qchttp://www.fl ickr.com/photos/suephi /3064021001/in/photostream/http://www.positivenation.co.uk/is sue117/features/feature1/feature1.htmhttp://www.cooltownstudios.com/2007/ 11 /08/self-expression-at - -its-residential-best

Fig 1.6 http://www.womansday.com/Articles/Home/10-Magnifi cent-Urban-Gardens.html

Fig 1.7 Yocum, Dayna. “Design Manual: Greywater Biofi ltration Constructed Wetland System.” Bren School of Environmental Science and Management. University of California, Santa Barbara, n.d. Web. 24 May 2011. <fi estabrenucsb.edu/~chiapas2/Water%20Management_fi les/Greywater%20Wetlands-1.pdf>

Fig 1.8 http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/Crops_Kansas_AST_20010624.jpghttp://blog.makezine.com/archive/2008/12/vertical_farming.html

Images

17

18

19

Context Analysispart 2

20

Fig 2.1 Topologies

21

Spatial City

During the 1960’s, a group of avant-garde

visionaries comprised of architects, artists, writers,

theorists, and critics imagined a series of urban

utopias. They drew out phantom cities of the

future. They called themselves “spatial urbanists”,

which refl ected their conceptual idea of the utopian

“spatial” city. The city is suspended in the space

on an industrialized three- dimensional mesh over

existing urban centers. From this diverse group

of images, illustrations of the ideal, “spatial” city,

shows an almost endless number of possibilities.

Sometimes we fi nd dreamlike descriptions of the

images from the writing of critics like Raagon, Pierre

Restany, Henry Van Lier, Abraham Moles, Nicolas

Schoffer, and Victor Vasarely. The most observable

evidence that back up the phantom city is the big

collection of architectural drawings, models, and

artworks by various architects and artists. With all

these sketches and drawings combined, they begin

to outline the image and idea of a luminous city that

was to fl oat above the earth, with all its habitable

parts circulating in rhythm. Technology would make

sure that the inhabitants’ needs were going to be

attended to, transportation will be fl awless, and

there will be a great variety of social and leisure

spaces for the citizens. Rectilinear and polyhedral

structures and towers would support biomorphic

living cells, and themselves would constitute a great

wide network of plastic art. Color, light, and sound

would all be harmonized in this urban space into a

unifi ed, constantly changing spectacle. 1

The spatial city in France tells a two-part story. “One of

these parts recounts the formation and development

of a particular avant-garde, or neo-avant-garde: the

French tendency toward “spatial urbanism,” which

comprised architectural design, artistic production,

and engineering experimentation. The second part

described the external or contextual vicissitudes of

the society in which this avant-garde practiced.”2

The spatial city is developed from post-industrial

ideology and developed not for a single

1 Larry Busbea, Topologies: the Urban Utopia in France, 1960-1970 (Cambridge, MA: MIT, 2007), 3.2 Larry Busbea, Topologies: the Urban Utopia in France, 1960-1970 (Cambridge, MA: MIT, 2007), 4.

22

country but with a global language. The raw material

from the industrial age is used for the construction

of the framework for the urban utopia. The sixties

is seen as an international time for experimental

architecture. Van Lier envisioned the city with

great light and fl exible structure that could be

mobile. There will be effi cient circulation systems

that transport people into a fl awless communication

of spaces. In Mole’s and Van Lier’s visions of the

urban environment, the realistic and the futuristic

mix, networks would multiply, structures transform

and reconfi gure in time, and the city would change,

grow, and expand upward and into sky.1

“The science of space embodies at best a

technological utopia, a sort of computer simulation

of the future, or of the possible, within the framework

of the real, the framework of the existing mode of

production. The starting-point here is a knowledge

that is at once integrated into, and integrative with

respect to, the mode of production. The technological

utopia in question is a common feature not just of

many science-fi ction novels, but also of all kinds

of projects concerned with space, be they those of

architecture, urbanism, or social planning.”2

The actual nature of the design made it clear that the

“spatial” city will be almost impossible to make into

a realistic product. The way the spaces were drawn

and designed were very symptomatic and highly

problematic, which shows programmatic failings and

internal ideological contradictions in urban design

1 Larry Busbea, Topologies: the Urban Utopia in France, 1960-1970 (Cambridge, MA: MIT, 2007), 27.2 Henri Lefebvre, Th e Production of Space (Oxford [u.a.: Blackwell, 2003), 9.

and theoretical programs alike.3 The sketches

and drawings did not provide enough realism to

demonstrate the ideal city of the future. As soon as

the artists and writers describe a resolution above

the spatial city concern, their scientifi c approach

turned into an avant-garde manifesto.4

“Within the new urban labyrinth described by Moles

and Rohmer the city-dweller would experience

a complex aesthetic existence. His immediate

physical needs would be taken care of and he

would be left with a surplus of time, during which he

could wander a vast network of parcours, each of

which would present varying sequences of ‘spatial

acts’ –passively perceived aesthetic moments,

or particular events. These spatial acts could

include changing views of the urban landscape, art

‘happenings,’ and even the viewing of aesthetically

enhanced publicity materials, or affi chage.

Orchestrating these various experiences would

become the main occupation of the artist of the

future, an aesthetician cum development engineer

who would design ‘an aesthetic structuralism of

fragments of the environment.’ Thus the logic of the

spatial combinatoire was being applied to the urban

environment itself, and the experience of it by the

individual inhabitant.”5

3 Larry Busbea, Topologies: the Urban Utopia in France, 1960-1970 (Cambridge, MA: MIT, 2007), 7.4 Larry Busbea, Topologies: the Urban Utopia in France, 1960-1970 (Cambridge, MA: MIT, 2007), 23.5 Larry Busbea, Topologies: the Urban Utopia in France, 1960-1970 (Cambridge, MA: MIT, 2007), 25.

23

Yona Friedmans Spatial City

Reviewed by Jonas Komka

His space frame/city/agglomeration:

-holds several layers

-horizontal and vertical movement

• -50-60% of structure occupied my modules (25-30 sq.m.) can provide air and light

circulation for lower level

• -prefabricated modules for modular voids

• -mobility and adaptation: multiple and changeable confi gurations for social needs.

• -accomodates increasing population, provides second layer for urban pedestrian fl ow,

preserves heritage in lower level

• -architect acts as a from giver (a similarity to situationism)

• -ground occupying foundation is outdated

• -space as structured substance, technical formulation of ideal infrastructure.

The proposal may span over

• -certain unavailable sites,

• -areas where building is not possible or permitted (expanses of water, marshland),

• -areas that have already been built upon (an existing city),

• -farmland.

In 1958, Yona Friedman published his fi rst manifesto : “Mobile architecture”. It described a

new kind of mobility not of the buildings, but for the inhabitants, who are given a new freedom.

The spatial city, which is a materialization of this theory, makes it possible for everyone to

develop his or her own hypothesis. This is why, in the mobile city, buildings should :

1. touch the ground over a minimum area

2. be capable of being dismantled and moved

3. and be alterable as required by the individual occupant.1

1 Komka, Jonas. “ARCHITECTURE + URBANISM: Larry Busbea: Topologies - Th e Urban Utopia in France 1960-1970 (2007).” ARCHITECTURE + URBANISM.

Topologies

24

Skyscraper Case Studies

Vertical Campus: A New Skyscraper for an Ever-evolving LA Fig 2.2

The tower is located over Los Angeles River, Using the

buildings base to generate hydroelectric power. There is a

mix of residential, commercil, garden and civic spaces. “Wind

turbines join the hydroelectric to provide energy, as does

photovoltaic fi lm; horizontal farms breed algae for energy

use while hanging gardens grow vegetables and fl owers for

residents; rainwater is collected and purifi ed; and all of the

city’s transportation paths – bike, pedestrian, car, subway,

train – run across the building’s base, unifying the building in

another way with its landscape.”1 The features of the tower

is very close to a functioning spatial community. There is a

combination of mixed use spaces and the ability for modular

spaces to be attached. However, the circulation is very

dependent on vertical lifts and a pure vertical tower suggests

privacy so it is hard for a natural community core to evolve.

1 http://www.evolo.us/architecture/vertical-campus-a-new-skyscraper-

for-an-ever-evolving-l-a/

25

Fig 2.3Vertical Street/City

The design of this skyscraper is to provide a structure for

a vertical street where developments gradually occur and

change attaching to the structural cores. This allows the

skyscraper to have its own character depending on multiple

architectural designers for multiple inhabitants. “A great

number of architects, designers and landscape architects

will have an opportunity to participate in erection of this

skyscraper. The tenants may choose the look, planning,

style, characteristics of their house. The bounds of the ground

on each separate level will be formed in such way that will

prevent their interference. This will give a general skyscraper

look complex and unpredictable shape. The uniqueness

of building’s volume will contain in that, like a coral lying

on the ocean’s bottom and accumulating mollusks, it will

be fi lling itself with life. This will form natural and inimitable

environment.”1 This is design however creates a vertical cul

de sac. The tower is mainly a linear design instead of planar

design like the vertical campus. This case study is defi nitely

a good example of how to turn the horizontal street into a

vertical element.

1 http://www.evolo.us/competition/vertical-street-city-2/

26

Vertical City in Mexico

The tower is in designed by a mock fi rm of 10 undergraduate

architecture students. The concept is similar to the “Vertical

Street”, but the street is designed to be diagonal which almost

for a more public environment. “The Architecture within the

tower is built over time, creating a dynamic composition of

Mexico’s cultures. Furthermore, the proposed tower allows

sub-public and private spaces to evolve naturally, creating

complex urban spaces similar to those of historic Mexico.”1

The diagonal street is defi nitely the strong characteristic

of this tower. It functions more as a community rather than

private spaces, compared to the vertical street and vertical

campus.

1 http://www.architecturepost.org/2010/06/student-competition-vertical-city-in-mexico-city/

Fig 2.4

27

Multiple Site Possibilities

The spatial town or skyscraper cannot support itself

like a biosphere but it certainly can be developed

anywhere in the world as long as the region has

the right climate to farm and other resources

for its inhabitants to thrive. Spatial Urbanism in

Urban Areas. The spaces in the spatial skyscraper

should not destroy the existing social and spacial

context of a place bur rather provide additions to

the neighborhood that helps promote community,

self-individuality, and culture. For example, in

commercial rich areas, more residential spaces and

even farming programs can be developed within the

skyscrapers context.

Spatial Urbanism in Rural Areas. If a rural site is

chosen for development, the programs may be

more mixed use to provide the essential needs of

a community. Farming may be the main use of the

surrounding landscape thus there might not be any

priority to develop vertical farming.

Fig 2.5

28

Downtown Chicago

Downtown Chicago sits at the edge of Lake Michigan

and its lake front invites a lot of nightlife and tourists

alike. Around one-third of Chicago is concentrated

in the lake front neighborhoods. The majority of the

skyscrapers is located in Central Chicago. Central

Chicago is divided into three community areas; Near

North, Near South, and the Loop. In Near North

Side, there are 11 neighborhoods.

Streeterville is one of the neighborhoods in Near

North. It is bordered with the river on the south, Lake

Michigan in the North and East, and Michigan Ave

on the west. There is a large collection of luxurious

high-rise apartment buildings and restaurants.

Navy Pier, John Hancock, and the Magnifi cent Mile

shopping district are its popular destinations. Navy

Pier consists of 50 acres of parks, gardens, shops,

eateries and attractions to mainly tourists. Visitors

can ride a 150 ft. tall Ferris wheel, take boat rides,

or go in the IMAX Theatre. Near Navy Pier closer

to my site is an old warehouse that became River

East Art Center, where visitors can observe work

and take art classes or go to lectures. Streeterville

is also known for the Museum of Contemporary Art,

one of the best museums in Chicago 1

1 Solomon, Alan. “Streeterville | Chicago Neighborhoods | Explore Chicago.” Explore Chicago | Th e Offi cial Chicago Tourism Site. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 May 2011. <http://www.explorechicago.org/city/en/neighborhoods/streeterville.html>.

29

Fig 2.6

30

Chicago’s diverse economy is based on

manufacturing, printing and publishing, fi nance and

insurance, and food processing as primary sectors.

A big part of the economy comes from a substantial

industry and its location as a major inland port. This

gives the city a big role in the nations transportation

and distribution center. The source of nationally

distributed magazines, catalogs, educational

materials, encyclopedias, and specialized

publications, Chicago ranks second only to New

York in the publishing industry. The city is also home

to the Federal Reserve Bank, the Chicago Board of

Trade, and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

Items and goods produced: telephone equipment,

musical instruments, surgical appliances, machinery,

earthmoving and agricultural equipment, steel,

metal products, diesel engines, printing presses,

offi ce machines, radios and television sets, auto

accessories, chemicals, soap, paint, food products

and confections

The City of Chicago Department of Planning and

Development (DPD) takes big part in promoting the

diversity of the city as well as growth and economy.

They work with the existing business and try to

attract new ones. Community based planning is also

practiced to coordinate activities with residents and

community organization.

DPD promotes effective neighborhood planning

by coordinating the strategic allocation of public

funds to maximize private investment—and the

attraction of new companies—by providing a menu

of fi nancial resources, neighborhood improvements,

site location assistance, and the expediting of

permits and licenses. DPD also has the primary

responsibility for preserving city landmarks and

protecting the Chicago River and the Lake Michigan

shoreline.

Economy

Local Programs

31

Since its founding, Chicago has been an important

transportation and distribution point; at one time

it was a crucial link between the Great Lakes and

Mississippi River waterways and today the city

ranks among the world’s busiest shipping hubs. The

city became a world port in 1959 with the opening of

the St. Lawrence Seaway, which provides a direct

link from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean. The

Port of Chicago handles marine, rail, and overland

freight. The state of Illinois maintains the third-

highest combined mileage of railroads and paved

highways in the country. Approximately 750 motor

freight carriers serve the metropolitan area, and

trucking companies ship more than 50 million tons

of freight each year; railroads average more than 40

million tons. Chicago’s airports handle more than

one million metric tons of cargo annually

Chicago has one of the fastest growing population

in history. There are about 2,695, 598 people with

1,045,560 households residing within Chicago. Half

of the population lives in the metropolitan area. The

median Income for a household is $38,652, and the

median income for a family is about $42,724.

Racial Composition

45.0% White (31.7% non-Hispanic whites)

32.9% Black or African American

0.5% American Indian

5.5% Asian

13.4% from some other race

2.7% from two or more races

Hispanics or Latinos (of any race) make up 28.9% of

the total population.

Commercial

Demographics

Census Population in Chicago

1840 4,470 1850 29,963 570.3%1860 112,172 274.4%1870 298,977 166.5%1880 503,185 68.3%1890 1,099,850 118.6%1900 1,698,575 54.4%1910 2,185,283 28.7%1920 2,701,705 23.6%1930 3,376,438 25.0%1940 3,396,808 0.6%1950 3,620,962 6.6%(the beginning of suburbia)1960 3,550,404 −1.9%1970 3,366,957 −5.2%1980 3,005,072 −10.7%1990 2,783,726 −7.4%2000 2,896,016 4.0%2010 2,695,598 −6.9%

http://www.census.gov/

32

Fig 2.7 Racial / Ethnic Self-identifi cation

33

Fig 2.8 Historic Zoning Map

Fig 2.9 Streeterville Visitors Map

34

B u s w a y ( T o M

c C o r m i c k P l a c e )

TH

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MA

GN

I FI C

EN

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i

Vietnam Veteran's Memorial

McCormick Tribune Bridgehouse & Chicago River Museum

The Museum of Contemporary Photograpy

CHICAGO

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WA TER T AX I PO R T

WA TER T AX I PO R T

WA TER T AX I PO R T

WA TER T AX I PO R T

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C T A Purple Line to Evanston/Wilmett e weekday rush hour se r vice to/from Loo p

C T A Brown Line to Kimbal l

C CTA Pink Line to 54th/Cermak

T A Green Line to Harlem/Lak e

C T A Blue Lin e

to Cermak or Forest Park

C T A Blue Lin e

to O’Hare Airport

Wrigley Field/Chicago Cubs 2 m i l e s v i a C TA Red L i ne t o Add i s on

Frank Lloyd Wright Historic Distr ict/Oak Park/Garfield Park Conservatory 9 m i l e s v i a C TA G reen L i ne t o Ha r l em

CTA bu se s M -F, C e r t a i n hou r s2 , 29 , 65 , 66 , 120 , 121 o r 124

Lincoln Park Zoo The L inco ln Park Conservatory Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum 1/2 m i l e v i a C TA Bu s 151 She r i dan

United Center/Chicago Blackhawks and Chicago Bul ls 1 m i l e v i a C TA bu s 20

CTA Red Line to Howard

Ukrainian National Museum

2249 W. Supe r i o r S t .

Wicker Park

Ukrainian Vil lage

Bucktown

Polish Museum

of America

984 N . M i lwaukee CT

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Bronzevi l le 1/2 m i l e

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CTA Bu s 146 f r om The Magn i f i c en t M i l e o r S t a t e S t r ee t

National Museum of Mexican Art

Pi lsen

1852 W. 19 th S t r ee t1 m i l e v i a C TA bu s 18 o r C TA B l ue L i ne t o 18 th

National Ital ian AmericanSports Hal l of Fame1431 W. Taylor S t reet

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Pritzker Park

Ping Tom Park

Burnham Park

Gold Star Families Memorial and Park

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Washington Square Park

Erie Landing Park

World Trade Center

Apparel Center

Chicago Performing

Kendall College RiverWorks Campus

Arts Center

River Walk

Merchandise Mart

Sightseeing Boats

Chicago Theatre Mil lennium Station

Centennial Fountain and Arc

Riverwalk Gateway

Riverwalk

Chicago Cultural Center

Chicago Chi ldren’s Museum

Ferris Wheel

Bike & In-l ine Skate Rentals

Sight- seeing boats

Chicago Shake- speare Theater

Sky- l ine Stage

The Smith Museum of Stained Glass Windows

Exhibit ion Hal ls

Macy’s

Gallery 37 Center for the Arts

The Art Institute of Chicago

Symphony Center

Auditorium Theatre

Buckingham Fountain

Spir it of Music Garden

Spertus Museum DePaul’s Merle Reskin Theatre

Hostelling International Chicago

Harold Washington

Library Center

Goodman Theatre James R. Thompson Center

Petrillo

Chicago Architecture Foundation Bandshell

Butler Field

D A L E Y B I C E N T E N N I A L P L A Z A

MILLENNIUM PARK

Bank of AmericaTheatre

Chicago Board of Trade

Chicago Board Options Exchange Chicago Stock Exchange

LaSalle Station

Ford Center Oriental Theatre Daley

Center City Hall

Cadillac Palace Theatre

Civic Opera House

Chicago Mercantile Exchange

Sears Tower

Union Station

Harpo

Hellenic Museum and Cultural Center

Studios

Origin of the Great Chicago Fire

Greyhound Bus Station

Jane Addams Hu l l -House Museum

The Maxwell StreetMarket

Rando lph St reet Restaurant Corr idor Ogilvie Transportation Center

(formerly North Western Station)

Chicago Place

Tribune Tower NBC Tower Wrigley

Building

Historic Water Tower/City Gallery

Water Tower Place

The 900 Shops

Charnley- Persky House

International Museum of Surgical Science

Maxim's The Nancy Goldberg International Center

Chicago History Museum

The Second City

L I N C O L N P A R K

Chicago Water Works Visitor Center

Lookingglass Theatre

Oak Street Beach

Ohio Street Beach Milton Lee Olive Park

Jane Addams Memorial Park

John Hancock Center

Newberry Library

Roosevelt Branch Library

Steppenwolf Theatre

Royal George Theatre

North Avenue Beach

Museum of Contemporary Art

Northwestern Memorial Hospital

University Center of Chicago

The Field Museum

Museum Campus

Shedd Aquarium

America's Courtyard

Queen's Landing

Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum

12th Street Beach House

Charter One Pavilion

Northerly Island

Soldier Field/ Chicago Bears Burnham

Harbor

McCormick Place North

McCormick Place South

McCormick Place West

Motor Row Landmark District

Willie Dixon’s Blues Heaven Foundation

National Vietnam Veterans Art Museum

Wheeler Mansion

Glessner House

Clarke House Chicago Women’s Park and Gardens

Prairie Avenue Historic District McCormick

Place Lakeside Center

Arie Crown Theater

Shops at North Bridge

Chinatown Branch Library

Near North Branch Library

Sears on State Sullivan Center

Gene Siskel Film Center

Chicago Arts District

Three Arts Club

Van Buren Station

Drury Lane Theatre–Water Tower Place

McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum

House of Blues Chicago

Hotel Indigo Chicago Downtown Gold Coast

Sutton Place

Flemish House B&B

Gold Coast Guest House Bed & Breakfast

The Elms

Whitehall Sofitel Chicago Water Tower Tremont

Park Hyatt

The Talbott

The Drake

Westin Michigan Avenue

Residence Inn Chicago Downtown/Magnificent Mile

Ritz- Carlton, A Four Seasons Hotel

Hilton Suites Chicago/Magnificent Mile

Raffaello Hotel Seneca Hotel and Suites

Millennium Knicker- bocker

Affinia

Allerton The Avenue Hotel

Red Roof Inn Chicago Down- town

Wyndham Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott Chicago Downtown

CourtyardChicagoDowntown/River North

Marriott Chicago Downtown Magnificent Mile

Courtyard by Marriott Magnificent Mile Downtown Chicago

Homewood SuitesChicago Downtown

The Peninsula

Conrad

Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers

Swissotel

Hyatt Regency Chicago

Fairmont Hotel Monaco, a Kimpton Hotel

Hotel 71

Hotel Sax Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago

AmalfiResidence Inn/Springhill SuitesChicago River North Hotel

WestinChicagoNorth River

Holiday Inn Chicago Mart Plaza

Hotel Allegro Chicago, A Kimpton Hotel

The Silversmith Hotel & Suites

Hotel Burnham A Kimpton Hotel

Hampton Majestic Chicago Theatre District

Holiday Inn & Suites Chicago Downtown

Crowne Plaza Chicago Metro

Travelodge Hotel Downtown

Hotel Blake

Hilton Chicago

Chicago’s Essex Inn

Best Western Grant Park

Hyatt Regency McCormick Place

Congress Plaza Hoteland Convention Center

Palmer House Hilton

W City Center

Renaissance

TheJames

Four Points by Sheraton Chicago Downtown Magnificent Mile

Hilton Garden Inn Chicago Downtown Magnificent Mile

Hampton Inn & SuitesChicago Downtown

Embassy Suites Chicago Downtown

Dana Hotel & Spa

Hotel Cass Mag Mile Chicago,

A Holiday Inn Express

Omni Chicago

Inn of Chicago Magnificent Mile

InterContinental

Doubletree HotelChicago Magnificent Mile

Embassy Suites Chicago Downtown Lakefront

W Lakeshore

Four Seasons

Howard Johnson Inn Downtown Chicago

Ohio HouseMotel

Best Western River North

Comfort Inn & Suites Downtown Chicago

Ambassador

Old Town Bed and Breakfast

East Hotel

Hard Rock Hotel

The Blackstone – A Renaissance Hotel

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S I D E

Old Town

Gold Coast

LOOP

L A

K E

M

I C

H I

G A

N

South Loop

Central Station

West Loop Gate Greektown

Little Italy

N E A R

W E S T

S I D E

C h i n a t o w n

Goose Island

River West

River North

Streeterville

MIC

HIG

AN

AT&T Plaza and Cloud Gate

Ice Rink at McCormick Tribune Plaza

The Crown Fountain

Garden Terrace

Garden Terrace

Boeing Gallery South

Boeing Gallery North

The Joan W. and Irving B. Harris Theater for Music and Dance

The Park Grill Restaurant

RANDOLPH

CO

LUM

BUS

MONROE

Millennium Park

Chase Promenade

BP Bridge

The Lurie Garden

Jay Pritzker Pavilion

McDonald’s Cycle Center

Millennium Monument in Wrigley Square

Exelon Pavilions

Exelon Pavilions

Welcome Center

90

94

90

55

94

290

M

AD ISON

ST

A

TE ANDBASE

ZEROLINE

E

S

W

N

i

i

Visitor Information

Landmark

Hotel

C T A RAPID TRANSI T

1000 FEET

300 METERS

Elevated Subway

Legend

Base line zero signifies the city of Chicago street grid numbering system. Street address numbers increase as one moves progressively North or South of Madison Ave., and East or West of State St.

All in

forma

tion w

as co

rrect

at pre

ss tim

e. Sp

onso

red by

the C

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o Offic

e of T

ouris

m

W i l Fi ld/ChiW Chil

www.explorechicago.org

Fig 2.10 Chicago Visitors Map

35

The inhabitants of Streeterville are business people

as well as families, professionals as well as the

working class. There are several hospitals in the

area, as part of Northwestern University’s Feinberg

School of Medicine, and thus there are several

members of the medical community living in and

near Streeterville as well.

Potential Impacts of a spatial skyscraper Increase

diversity of jobs and programs that surround the

area. Create a more self dependent sustainable

community. Provide the neighborhood new venues

for public recreation. Promote densifi cation on

empty lots and spaces.1

1 Solomon, Alan. “Streeterville | Chicago Neighborhoods | Explore Chicago.” Explore Chicago | Th e Offi cial Chicago Tourism Site. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 May 2011. <http://www.explorechicago.org/city/en/neighborhoods/streeterville.html>.

Streeterville

Navy Pier

John Hancock

Center

Magnificent Mile

Museum of

Contemporary Art

Fig 2.11 Chicago Neighborhoods

Fig 2.12 Landmarks

36

Fig 2.13 Streeterville

37

River East Art

Center

AMC Theatre

NBC Tower

NBC Tower

Ogden Plaza

River East Center

River East Art Center

AMC Theatres

Parkview West

Childrens Learning Place

North Columbus Drive Bridge

North Lake Shore Drive Bridge

Chicago River

Fig 2.14 Surrounding Buildings

Fig 2.15 Landmarks

38

Fig 2.16 South Streeterville

39

Fig 2.1 http://dprbcn.wordpress.com/2010/01/29/konrad-wachsmann/http://www.htvdeijsberg.nl/79-mental-architecture-former--u t o -pian-building/thomas-hirschhorn-2/http://www.mocadetroit.org/pastexhibitions.html

Fig 2.2 http://www.evolo.us/architecture/vertical-campus-a-new-skyscraper-for-an-ever-evolving-l-a/

Fig 2.3 http://www.evolo.us/competition/vertical-street-city-2/

Fig 2.4 http://www.architecturepost.org/2010/06/student-competition-vertical-city-in-mexico-city/

Fig 2.6 http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Chicago_Downtown_Aerial_View.jpg

Fig 2.7 http://www.radicalcartography.net/index.html?chicagodots

Fig 2.8 http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/su/maps/mapweb.html

Fig 2.9 explorechicago.org

Fig 2.10 explorechicago.org

Fig 2.11 http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/Chicago_community_areas_map.svg

Fig 2.12 http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/28/Navy_Pier.jpghttp://www.gothereguide.com/Images/USA/Chicago/JohnHancockCenter_chicago1.jpghttp://www.redroof-chicago-downtown.com/Portals/281/images/Red_Roof_Chicago_Downtown_Magnifi cent.jpghttp://contemporaryartphotos.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Chicago-Museum-Of-Contemporary-Art.jpg

Fig 2.15 http://www.chicagodossier.us/ResV/destination_img/usa/il/chicago/Chicago-River-East-Art-Center-685.jpghttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a1/NBC_Building_060912.jpg/450px-NBC_Building_060912.jpghttp://www.activistangler.com/storage/chicago%20river.jpg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1299878817913

Images

40

41

Site Analysispart 3

42

Chicago Sun and Wind

Winter Wind

Spring Wind

Sun Path Diagram

Fall Wind

Summer Wind

Sol

ar E

leva

tion

East <--- Solar Azimuth ---> West

43

Chicago Land Use

Fig 3.1 Regional Change in Land use, 1990 - 2001

Fig 3.2 Percent New Urbanization and DistanceFrom Downtown Chicago

Acr

esP

erce

nt o

f Tot

al N

ew U

rban

izat

ion

Land Use

Distance in Miles from City Center

“Between 1990 and 2001, a total of nearly

178,000 acres in the region converted from an

‘undeveloped’ (Agriculture or Vacant/Wetland) state

into another use. This amounts to 278 square miles,

or 7.4% of the region.”1 Shown in the chart above,

most of the land use is changed into Open Space

as well as the Urban and Buit-Up space. There is 1 Part II: Analysis of Land Use Change, 1990 – 2001

approximately 140 square miles of new Open Space,

as opposed to nearly 134 miles of Urban/Built-Up

land. This shows that the Agriculture spaces are

decreasing, perhaps being pushed farther from the

city to accommodate more Urban space.

The graph above shows where most of the

urbanization happens between 30 to 40 miles from

Downtown Chicago. The growth is not concentrated

in one area but spread out in a ring as shown in

the next image. This shows how urbanization is

spreading faster in the far suburban regions. The

footprint of the developing areas is also greater

than the corresponding density as it would be in

downtown Chicago. The map also illustrates how

the Agricultural areas are pushed further away from

the densest areas of the city.

44

Fig 3.3 “Urbanized” Lands (2001) Classifi ed as “Agriculture” or “Vacant” in 1990

45

Fig 3.4 NIPC’s 2001 Land Use Inventory

Fig 3.6 Sub-Regional Land Use Share Gain

Fig 3.5 Municipalities in North Illinois (2000)

Residential Commercial Industrial Open Space

Tha maps above shows how the land use

has a parallel relationship with the expressways.

While most of the commercial (red) areas are

concentrated in city center, there are clear indications

of larger areas of commercial zones spread along

the expressways. These are the edge cities based

primarily from vehicular access.

The for pie charts above shows the land

use percentage per region. The yellow represents

Chicago, while the red is suburban Cook and the

blue is suburban Dupage. Throughout the Chart,

there is not much land use gain in Chicago, and

very little land gain in suburban Cook. There is a

lot of Agriculture land turned into Industrial land in

suburban Dupage and Residential, Commercial,

and Open Space developments in Will and Lake

County. “The dramatic increase in Open Space

acreage during this period is due in no small part to

the conversion of a large portion the former Joiliet

Arsenal in Will County into the Midewin National

Tallgrass Prairie.”1 There has also been an active

adding of more forest preserve in the other Counties

since 1990’s.

1 Part II: Analysis of Land Use Change, 1990 – 2001

46

South Chicago

This area is an interest for a reclamation

plan. This area is mainly industrial zoning. This

is also the region where there is the most wildlife

ecology nearest to Chicago because of the national

parks and small lakes in the area. There is also

a large concentration of food deserts in the area

from the lack of nearby grocery stores and a large

amount of fast-food restaurants. The south side is

connected to the city center through highways, but

there are also metra lines and well established bike

routes for commute or recreation.

--

-

-

--

-

-

Fig 3.7 South Chicago

w i l d l i f e p o p u l a t i o nf o o d d e s e r tp a r k sb i k e r o u t em e t r a

47

Macro Site Analysis

Fig 3.8 Satellite

Fig 3.9 Street, Highways and Parks

Lake Michigan

Navy Pier

Lake Shore Dr.

Millennium Park

I-290

I-94

Site

Streeterville

Loop

48

Fig 3.11 Train and Metro

Fig 3.10 Nodes and Edges

orange - main roadsblue - main nodes

green - parksblack - streets

red - edges

blue - local metrored - trains

49

Fig 3.12 Density and Voids

Streeterville

Loop

Shown in fi g 3.12 in the previous page, the nodes and edges which is important to know if there are important impacts these urban features might be a part of the schematic design. Also knowing the main streets and public transportations is important to understand how vehicles and pedestrian might access the site.

The map above shows a cluster concentration of voids in south part Streeterville as well as a few south of the Loop, while there are

highrises that surrounds the areas. These voids serve as a possible footprint for the spatial mega structure to densify the city through creating the spatial landscape.

red - densitywhite - voids

green - parks

50

Micro Site Analysis

Fig 3.13 Satellite

Fig 3.14 Site

Wacker dr.

Chicago River

Nor

th C

olum

bus

dr.

Nor

th C

ityfro

n P

laza

dr.

E Grand Ave.

E Illinois st.P1

P2

E North Water st.

River Esplanade Park

N P

ark

dr.

Ogd

en P

laza

N N

ew s

t.

N M

cClu

rg c

t.

Lake

front

Tra

il

Chicago Riverwalk

Nor

th L

akes

hore

dr.

51

Fig 3.15 Main Building Use

Fig 3.16 Vehicular Circulation

Orange - Site (Parking)Red - Parking

Brown - Apartments and CondosBlue - Commercial

Light Brown - Hotel Green - Parks

Parkview WestRiver East Center

River East Art Center

NBC

Sheraton Hotel

52

Fig 3.17 Figure Ground

Highrise Data1 River East CenterHeight: 196.29 m Floors: 58Structural material: concreteFacade system: curtain wallFacade color: light gray, dark blue, light brownArchitectural style: postmodernMain usages: residential condominiumSide usages: cinema, fi tness, parking

2 Parkview WestHeight: 151.64m Floors: 49Structural material: concreteFacade system: curtain wallFacade color: dark orange, dark greenArchitectural style: modernismMain usages: residential condominiumSide usages: parking

3 Riverview IIHeight: 121.62m Floors: 32Structural material: concreteFacade system: applied masonry, curtain wallFacade color: white, dark red, greenArchitectural style: postmodernMain usages: residential condominium

4 Cityfront PlaceHeight: 120.70m Floors: 40Structural material: concreteFacade system: brickFacade color: dark red, light greenArchitectural style: modernismMain usages: rental apartments

5 Sheraton HotelHeight: 100.76 m Floors: 31

Structural material: concreteFacade system: curtain wallFacade color: light brownArchitectural style: postmodernMain usages: hotel

6 Riverview IHeight: 97.99m Floors: 27Structural material: concreteFacade system: applied masonry, curtain wallFacade color: white, dark red, greenArchitectural style: postmodernMain usages: residential condominium

7 Embassy Suites Lakefront HotelHeight: 86.59m Floors: 19Facade system: curtain wallFacade color: gray, light grayArchitectural style: modernismMain usages: hotel

8 City View CondominiumsFloors: 12Structural Material: concreteFacade system: applied masonryFacade color: dark green, dark redArchitectural style: post modernMain usages: residential condominium

9 NBC TowerHeight: 191.11 m Floors: 37Structural material: limestonFacade system: curtain wallFacade color: light brownArchitectural style: postmodernMain usages: commercial offi ceSide usages: tv studio

1 2

345 6

7

89

53

Shown in fi g 3.15 in the previous page shows the diversity of building usage in the area. There are a good mix of residential and commercial buildings. This will help determine possible connections to the existing uses. Fig 3.16 shows vehicular circulation, showing the two dead ends near the site as a possible entrance to the spatial city. The fi gure ground map shows the amount of voids in the area where the footprints for the spatial city will grow from.

54

Fig 3.18 Panorama 1

Fig 3.19 Panorama 2

55

56

Fig 3.1 Part II: Analysis of Land Use Change, 1990 – 2001

Fig 3.2 Part II: Analysis of Land Use Change, 1990 – 2001

Fig 3.3 Part II: Analysis of Land Use Change, 1990 – 2001

Fig 3.4 NIPC’s 2001 Land Use Inventory (V. 1.2, 2006)

Fig 3.5 NIPC’s Digital Map of the Region (1999)

Images

57

58

59

Program Analysispart 4

60

Evolving Program

Like a new developing town, there is no defi nite

residential, commercial, or industrial program that

will be addressed in the skyscraper. The program

will change and evolve as needed. However there

will set zones in respect to the human scale. There

also will be set rules for programs that might be

eventually designed. The only set programs in

the skyscraper is the support systems and the

public systems. What infrastructure is needed to

support the evolving city? For a fl at city to function

you need the basic infrastructure of transportation

systems such as roads, bridges and highways.

Sewage systems, water, gas, and electric. As well

as the buildings in it such as schools, libraries, court

houses, and recreation areas such as parks. For a

vertical or three-dimensional city, the infrastructure

is not very different. The main challenge however

is how will roads and highways translate vertically.

How will the relationship of public infrastructure

relate to the private developments to simulate or

recreate what it is in the ground. In this chapter, I

will diagram horizontal and vertical experiences,

connections, integrated systems, three-dimensional

zoning, transportation, circulation, public buildings

and parks, and relationships with existing conditions.

From this, there will be a set of rules and guidelines

for the development of the three-dimensional city.

FIXED

connections

integrated systems

three-dimentional zoning

transportation

circulation

public buildings and parks

agricultural development

open spaces

EVOLVING

residential development

commercial development

industrial development

relationship with existing conditions

spatial city experience

by zoning/building guidline

61

Human Scale

Being a city is typically overwhelming scale wise

because of the tall skyscrapers that is only used by

the people who work or live in it. The experience of

the city dweller becomes limited to the ground in the

streets. The skyscraper becomes a fi xed destination,

meaning that once you enter the building, you know

exactly where you want to go, what fl oor, and which

room. “Humans interact with their environments

based on their physical dimensions, capabilities and

limits.”1 With the skyscraper being extremely limiting

and the streets being a place for human interaction.

By re conceptualizing the typical skyscraper and

making it more diverse and more like a experience,

the spaces will be more humanized. If its just taking

a walk, without having to ride an elevator to the

ground, or riding an elevator without knowing the

destination right away.

Posted by Paul Malo on April 22, 2002

“Cities grow around human needs. As Paul Malo

points out, architects sometimes think in terms

of buildings (objects) rather than in the spatial

requirements of the humans who are to occupy and

use the space. Many poorly designed urban spaces

are hostile to humans. The spaces or buildings leave

one cold and alienated, causing us to rush past such

spaces or buildings. Good urban design of spaces

and buildings should be inviting, encouraging us to

stay for a while, as we go about our human activities.

The best urban spaces and buildings are gathering

places for people to conduct whatever business or

1 “Human scale: Encyclopedia II - Human scale - Human scale in architecture.” Enlightenment - Th e Experience Festival. http://www.experiencefestival.com/a/Human_scale_-_Human_scale_in_ar-chitecture/id/5145332 (accessed May 29, 2011).

social activity is important at the time.” 2

In response:

Posted by JWmHarmon on April 23, 2002

“Yes, we speak of “activating” a space--which means

providing a human use for it or, conversely, NOT

creating spaces for which there is not activity. Most

of us have experienced grandiouse lobbies of offi ce

buildings where a lonely security attendant sits at

a desk benearh lofty ceilings. Chilling. People are

alientaed by grand, empty spaces. Vast, windswept

plazas likewise are modern architectural conceits

that people really dislike. There is such a thing as

“human scale” and there are approriate sizes for

areas related to the uses they serve. No use, no

space. Sometimes small is better.”3

By dividing a large scale building with similar spaces,

and changing these spaces into different uses,

and at the same time allow it to evolve and grow

depending on the users needs, makes a skyscraper

become more humanized.

2 “Re: urban design - spaces and human scale - Architecture Forum.” ArchitectureWeek DesignCommunity Home. http://www.designcommunity.com/discussion/18111.html (accessed May 29, 2011).3 “Re: urban design - spaces and human scale - Architecture Forum.” ArchitectureWeek DesignCommunity Home. http://www.designcommunity.com/discussion/18178.html (accessed May 29, 2011).

62

home

home

commute

commute

work

work

Fig 4.1 Large City

Fig 4.2 Small City

63

Fig 4.3 Line, Plane, and Volume

Street to City to Spatial City

To create a spatial city, you have to understand

how fl at city works and what are the main elements

that forms the spaces and buildings. We take the

basic infrastructure and reformulate the equation in

a simple vertical representation of its network and

converting it into a framework.

In the diagram below, the street is a representation

of a line, which goes only two directions. When you

multiply and intersect these lines (or streets) you

create a plane which is a representation of a city grid

which interconnects all spaces in the plane. This

is the limitation of the traditional urban design, a

single plane where you cannot build on top or under

buildings, but only on the single plane.

If we put planes parallel and perpendicular to each

other, this creates a three dimensional mass where it

becomes a spatial city. There are vertical, horizontal,

and diagonal circulation and spatial relationships

are less limited than “planar” relationship.

street plane

commercial street

plane plane

open space open space

plane

64

pFig 4.4 Street to Vertical Street

The model below is a study of how a street may be

turned into a vertical street with horizontal elements

and connections for different uses.

65

Fig 4.5 Space Frame and Connection Diagram

The model below is a study of how a structural frame

may twist and bend into existing buildings around

the site. The main connections exist in the ground

as well as the upper levels of the surrounding

skyscrapers.

66

Frame and Landscape

Below is a diagram of a comparison between what

the landscape is and how the frame might be.

The space frame will be composed of a structural

mesh rigid enough for space building attachments.

While the landscape is more horizontal in quality,

the primary quality of the frame is vertical because

of structural issues with horizontal elements. The

frame just like the landscape must somehow be

dynamic in nature, and vegetation and farming must

be able to thrive

Fig 4.6 Frame and Landscape

67

g p

Vertical and Horizontal

Because of the dynamics of building in a spatial

city, types of spaces can be can function better and

more compact compared to the limiting ground.

For example, Homes can actually feel more private

when you stack them vertically because you cannot

see you cannot see the neighbors until you move up

or down. Commercial and public can feel more like

a community node because once you designate a

horizontal element in a vastly vertical surrounding, it

automatically becomes a gathering space.

Fig 4.8 Private and Public

Fig 4.7 Residential and Commercial

68

Evolution Through Time

The ability for the spaces to grow, expand, and

connect with each other is essential for the cities

growth and cultural enrichment. As years progress,

the spaces dandifi es and built into. Farms may

be tempted to move higher but must remain fi xed

into designated areas. Public spaces become the

connections between each vertical planes. The

most density happens at the lower levels and in

commercial levels and gradually decreases the

further high it gets.

The ability to expand means that structural members

must be pre-fabricated and able to connect with

each other in almost any orientation. Structural

issues must be calculated to the highest possible

load factors.

Guidelines of zoning must also be set to insure a

balance between open spaces and closed spaces,

farming and built in, and also keeping a human

scale factor.

Fig 4.9 Evolving

69

open space and farming

residential

commercial

residential

open space

commercial

residential

primary

secondary

openspace

openspace

Fig 4.10 City Spatial Relationships

The diagrams below demonstrate how the Savannah

plan can be refl ected into a vertical situation and

take the vertical situations into a more private group

of spaces while the perpendicular main horizontal

circulations become more public centers which

connects the vertical elements together. The ground

level (the river street in the savannah plan) acts as

a more commercial market type environment as it

connects to other communities or cities and acts as

a highway. Open spaces or parks happen around the

densest part of the residential zone or closer to the

commercial zones, without disrupting the distances

between the main commercial areas. The open

farming areas are typically in the outskirts of the

city, as it requires vast expanses of cheap land for

profi tability. The Agriculture is typically disconnected

with the main commercial areas of a city.

City to Skyscraper

70

commercial planeminimum hight of surrounding highrise

square/park/gathering/recreationmiddle/easiest access

connecting the cul-de-sac

highest plane5 min travel from base

cul-d

e-sa

c

cul-d

e-sa

c

verti

cal s

treet

verti

cal s

treet

verti

cal s

treet

verti

cal s

treet

ground planedivided into smaller lots and

activates street level

Fig 4.11 Connecting Cul-de-sac

When you turn a city section into a urban plan, the

skyscrapers become dead end streets or cul-de-

sacs. This limits the program of a typical skyscraper

to stay into a private residential development or

a series of corporate offi ce spaces. There are no

community-like environments and no possibilities

for new types of public programs because of its

fi xed core structure. However, when you add the

urban plan into skyscraper in between the existing

skyscraper, you can create bridges and connection

allowing the cul-de-sacs to meet into another street

and actually create a community connection in the

surrounding context. These connections typically

happen in the horizontal commercial planes or web.

71

Macro Zoning/Program Analysis

Zoning is important to the spatial city as it is important

to a fl at city. There are several factors that affect

how the zoning will occur in a spatial environment.

One of which is the existing zoning/programming

that is around the site. How much of what building

type or zone is need. How will the spatial circulation

connect to existing streets.

Zoning the spatial city does not provide the fl oor

plans of what is to be built, but rather will provide the

spatial boundaries of what can be built where. In the

next few pages are diagrams of how these zones

will connect and relate to each other.

There are two initial macro attempts, the fi rst one is

with the main faces facing north and south, which

concentrates direct sunlight to the south facing

planes creating shadow into more than half of the

other residential zones. The second mass model

shows the same concept but rotated 90 degrees

which allow the sun to touch all residential zone

planes, this also maximizes sunlight into the major

park area.

Fig 4.13 Existing Site Program red = commercialblue = residential

orange = hotelsgreen = open/parks

72

Fig 4.14 Zoning Mass

Fig 4.15 Top, South, East Elevation

Mass 1 - North South Confi guration

Mass 1

red = commercialblue = residential

orange = hotelsgreen = open/parks

Mass 2

Mass 2 - East West Confi guration

73

This third model is the combination of the previous

two zoning masses which is ideal for the site. This

takes advantage of the other empty void space. By

extending residential zones over it and providing

a more open public space. This also give several

other possible orientations for living spaces.

The ground level is zoned as mixed use with

commercial occupying the ground fl oors and

residential up to 5 stories high. The ground levels,

just like the spatial levels are divided and allowed for

smaller scale development.

The park spaces are aligned with the with the

highrise buildings connecting them to each other.

There are two main park levels. The lower level

park is leveled high enough to connect with all the

highrise buildings through trail systems. The upper

park level is connected to the NBC tower and the

River East Center Condominiums.

Also in the upper park system is the commercial

spaces connecting the residential planes.

Fig 4.16 Mass 3 red = commercialblue = residential

green = open/parks

74

Fig 4.17 Parks and Highways

Fig 4.18 Top, South, East Elevation

red = commercialblue = residential

orange = primary circulationgreen = open/parks

The diagram below shows the green as different

parks that may be placed throughout ideal locations

within the live and work zones. Trails would

interweave with each other connecting these park

systems as well as exiting trails and sidewalks

around the site.

75

The major commercial areas are to be zoned along

the major traffi c circulations for easiest access. There

are commercial zones at ground level, along the major

vertical levels, and also at the highest level plane that

connect the highrises. Local Civic buildings are also

going to be at the top plane at the major intersections

to act as a defi ned node point and increase public

activation at this level.

The residential areas are arranges into pairs of vertical

planes. This allows effi ciency in vertical, horizontal,

and diagonal circulation, with the space between the

planes used for transportation. The vertical plane will

also allow for easy insertion of the homes into the

structural plane. These spaces might also be service

commercial or light industrial. While this planes are

zoned for residential use, its primary use is for module

farming until they are sold and moved into.

The park and wetland spaces are what makes up the

majority of the horizontal planes, connecting all or most

vertical elements in and around the site. The area will

initially and permanently be a public park connected

with trails, while the commercial and residential zones

are developed.

Fig 4.21 Major Park Planes

Fig 4.20 Major Living Planes

Fig 4.19 Major Commercial Web

76

Fig 4.22 Primary Uses

The Destination

Because the spatial city is practically empty of

inhabitants from start, a program that will draw

people into the structure is important. One is park

and trail system that would serve as a open space

recreation. Another is program is integrating its

main use as a Vertical Farming facility on the upper

spaces and market programs at the lower level.

Systems such as greywater treatment will already

be running to purify water from the surrounding

buildings. There will also be wind farming turbines

that help power the building and give the unused

power back to the grid.

77

Public Buildings, Trails, and Parks

Public buildings or Civic buildings and Parks are

public infrastructure and must be considered in the

initial program analysis as it will help defi ne the form

of the mega structure. It will be the main focal points

and nodes of the spatial city as it usually is in a fl at

setting. The public buildings needs to lay within easy

access of the community and neighborhood. The

civic buildings will be permanent but also evolvable

in case the use of the area changes.

Unlike the public buildings, the public parks will be

more defi ned in the structure. Parks have to be

easily accessible by everyone and able to provide a

recreational trail that weaves throughout the spatial

city. Parks in the landscape are of course very

typically fl at and horizontal in nature. This creates

a very public environment for people to mingle,

exercise, play, and other recreational activities. To

create a vertical park is like going against what its

best function. The task of creating a trail based park

system in the spatial city will be like designing a

trail that weaves upward. This would mean that the

trail system will be primarily diagonal and the parks

will be horizontal. If there are existing trails in the

surrounding site, the spatial trail must connect with

it as well. A prime example of an elevated city park

is the NY High Line.

The parks will have trees and grass and will be

irrigated through a irrigation system that recycles

water from collected rain and grey water. There will

also be wetlands within the structure to help purify

grey water and re-use it for fl ushing water.

Fig 4.23 The High Line, New York

78

washed pea gravelwetland plants

washed stones

trail

rest/sitting/viewing

area

y

viewingarea

The diagrams above shows a conceptual section

and plan how wetlands can be integrated into the

horizontal trail systems. “A greywater biofi ltration

system is a constructed wetland that removes a

signifi cant amount of pollutants from greywater

before it fl ows into the groundwater, river, or natural

wetland. Addition of pathogens, bacteria, and non-

biodegradable toxins to the surface water can be

avoided with this biological treatment, to promote a

healthier ecosystem and more sanitary conditions.“

Most plants clean water pollutants by penetrating

the soil and transporting oxygen where it reaches

deeper than it would naturally travel. Natural wetland

plants and micro-organism are the best at using the

nutrients from the wastewater. It is better to use the

type of wetland plants near the site because these

plants are used to the climate. However, any wetland

plants that grow well can be used, such as Cattails,

Bulrushes, and Reed Grasses. Cattails are great for

removing large amounts of nitrate and phosphate.

Brushes are good with high pollutant removal. Reed

Grasses allow more oxygen to reach the root zone.

Fig 4.24 Integrating Biofi ltration with Trails

Fig 4.25 Cattails, Bulrushes, Reed Grass

79

Plants and Animals

of Wetlands

Arrowhead

Bald Eagle

Baltimore Butterfl y

Black Spruce

Black Tern

Bowfi n

Brook Stickleback

Bulrush

Cardinal-Flower

Common Cattail

Common Loon

Cotton Grass

Damselfl y

Dragonfl ies

Dragon’s Mouth, Wild

Pink

Dwarf Mistletoe

Eastern Newt

Great Blue Heron

Green Frog

Green-backed Heron

Iris

Kingfi sher

Kirtland’s Snake

Lichen Liverwort

Marsh Wren

Marsh-Marigold

Michigan Holly

Minnow

Northern Harrier

Osprey

Pitcher Plant

Poison Sumac

Red Maple

Red-bellied Dace

Red-winged Blackbird

Sandhill Crane

Smartweed, Knotweed

Snail

Sphagum Moss

Spotted Turtle

Sundew

Tamarack

Trumpeter Swan

Water Milfoil

Water Shrew

Water-lily

Waterweed, Elodea

p

Medium community system: assumes a contribution of 240L/family/week for 200

families, with a conservative reaction rate of 1.1 and average

lowest temperature of 3°

6.86 33 5 4.62 0.70 5.32 21.27 113.14

Large community system: assumes a contribution of 240L/family/week for 400

families, with a conservative reaction rate of 1.1 and average

lowest temperature of 3°

13.72 33 5 4.62 0.70 7.52 30.09 226.28

Medium community system: assumes a contribution of 240L/family/week for 200

families, with a semi-conservative reaction rate of 2.0 and average lowest temperature

of 3°C

6.86 33 5 2.54 0.50 4.67 18.67 87.12

Large community system: assumes a contribution of 240L/family/week for 400

families, with a semi-conservative reaction rate of 2.0 and average lowest temperature

of 3°

13.72 33 5 2.54 0.50 6.60 26.40 174.23

Table 2. Size Matrix for Greywater Wetlands, varying depth of medium, size of contributing discharge, and reaction rate. Calculations based on equations presented in Crites and

Tchobanoglous (1998)

Description Influent into

wetland (m3/day =

1000L/day)

BOD level of influent (mg/L)

Desired BOD of effluent (mg/L)

Days in Construc

ted Wetland

Depth of

Medium (m)

Width (m)

Length (m)

Total Area (m2)

80

level trail

sloped trail

steep trail

multiple pathsand accessibility

elevator

wetland

irrigation

grass

irrigation

grass

Fig 4.26 Elevating the Trail

sittingrestingplayingetc

typical slope < or = 1:12

very small slope for drainage

81

Modulating Service Connections

To connect the systems in a skyscraper, the buildings

could be equipped with some sort of service module.

This module is to be built in the building and attached

at a specifi c point to where it can be easily attached

to the service infrastructure. These shall include

clean water, greywater, treated water, black, water,

power, and waste. If the attached building has its

own system, this can also be connected to the grid

through the service module.

There is no black water that come out of the building,

except if there is an emergency, and goes into a

biomass plant which converts waste into energy

and some greywater which is fed into the biofi ltration

system and comes back as treated water primarily

used for fl ushing and irrigation. The process is

recycled repeatedly reducing the amount of water

coming from outside the system.

Fig ? and ? shows diagrams of how this connection

relationship for the systems might work between

the buildable frame, the service module, and the

modular spaces attached.

clean watergreywatertreated waterblackwaterpowerwaste

wetlands

modules

modules

biomass plant

wind turbines

settleranaerobic reactors

Fig 4.27 Systems

82

verti

cal s

treet

empty lotvegetation

primary module

primary moduleattach primary

module

attach module

attach module

Fig 4.28 Module Connections

Fig 4.29 Service Module

service module

pre-fabricated wall structure pre-fabricated door/opening structure

showersink

hvac

waterheater

toilet fixtures

83

Fig 4.30 Horizontal Service

The image below shows service connection moving

horizontal along the diagonal trails connecting each

modular house into the grid.

84

Lot Divisions

For the vertical planes are zoned primarily for

residential use, the build zones are divided into a

Grid Volumes with three Volume Lots which can

then can be combined into up four volume lots

horizontally or vertically, creating a Spatial Unit. One

grid volume is determined by the structural plane

grid. One volume lot is dimensioned large enough

for a single bedroom home.

In the image shown below is one grid volume

divided into three volume lots. The light brown area

is the main build zone, while the dark brown is the

extension zone which overhangs from the structure.

The extension zones will allow for different exterior

interaction with neighboring buildings. The blue

dashed line is a build-to line for an edge in the

main circulation area. This is similar in concept if

compared to old townhouse urban planning.

Fig 4.32 Grid Volume

Fig 4.31 Townhouse

extension zone

main build zone

build-to line

volume lot

20’

60’

35’

60’25’

volume lot

volume lot

85

Above is an example of a occupied 4 x 1 Grid volume

with several type of Spatial Units. The main build

zone will allow street stability and the extension

zone should allow spatial diversity.

Fig 4.33 Spatial Units

Fig 4.34 Vertical Spatial Unit Types

4 x 1 Grid Volume

1 spatial unit 4 spatial units 3 spatial units

86

This unit type is type is has 1400 sq ft in the main build zone and 1000

sq ft in the extension zone, totalling of up to 2400 sq ft by 10 ft high, or

24000 cubic ft buildable space. These spaces are typically going to be

the medium sized one to two bedroom one bath type homes, for couples

or small families.

This unit type is type is has 2100 sq ft in the main build zone and 1500

sq ft in the extension zone, totalling of up to 3600 sq ft by 10 ft high, or

36000 cubic ft buildable space. These spaces are typically going to be

the large sized two to three bedroom one to two bath type homes, for

high income small families to medium income large families.

This is the largest spatial unit type. This unit type is type is has 2800 sq

ft in the main build zone and 2000 sq ft in the extension zone, totalling of

up to 4800 sq ft by 10 ft high, or 48000 cubic ft buildable space. These

spaces are typically going to be the duplex homes for families, or studio

apartment type living for single individuals or low income couples. This

unit type cannot be for one family.

This is the smallest spatial unit type. This unit type is type is has 700 sq

ft in the main build zone and 500 sq ft in the extension zone, totalling of

up to 1200 sq ft by 10 ft high, or 12000 cubic ft buildable space. These

spaces are typically going to be the small one bedroom one bath studio

type homes, for single individuals or low income couples.

Fig 4.35 One Spatial Unit

Fig 4.36 Two Spatial Unit

Fig 4.37 Three Spatial Unit

Fig 4.38 Four Spatial Unit

87

Fig 4.39 Some Spatial Unit Confi gurations

The ideal confi gurations preferred for my project

would be the ones with single units on the fl oor level

to maximize variety of uses in the street.

88

Fig 4.40 Commercial 2 - 6 Spatial Units

Commercial Build Lot Divisions

The commercial build lots is similar to the residential,

however commercial spaces, usually mixed use

spaces can take up two to six spatial units and can

be built horizontally as long the vertical and top lots

are already built into.

89

Modular Farming

Vertical farming will function through module.

By modulating the agriculture it will be able to

fi t into any area of the structure and also be able

to move to a different location. Each module will

contain a self functioning aquaponics tapping into

the already existing grey water wetland treatment

system to recycle water. The modules will be mini

greenhouses, taking in as much sunlight as possible

for photosynthesis and keeping the temperature

warm for all year growth production. LED lighting will

make up for the absence of sunlight. The system

will be fully automated growing catfi sh, tilapia,

striped bass in the fi sh tanks and a variety of green

vegetables in the growing beds.

The farming areas could also be built into the frame

as a separate structure from the modular structure. It

can be built as part of the ecological trail system so it

can be a more permanent infrastructure rather than a

temporary and replaceable one. It may be important

to create permanent farming areas in urban centers

from the threat of higher profi t businesses.

pump

planting bed

planting bed

fish tank

planting bedsettling tank

to grey water treatment system

artificial light

artificial light

artificial light

from rainwater and grey water treatment system

Fig 4.41 Aquaponics

90

Circulation and Transportation

When you look into a typical highrise, the vertical

transportation method usually consists several

express elevators which takes you to a sky lobby

then you take local elevators which would bring you

to your fi nal fl oor destination. This same concept can

be parallel into a street scenario. When you get out

of the house you walk (local elevator) to the bus stop

(sky lobby) then you take the bus (express elevator)

to another bus stop then walk to work.

Elevators typically go straight up or straight down.

However is street level people and vehicles pass

each other as they go about on their own speed. In

the image below showing pictures of Monolab’s High

Rise Tower where the idea of being able to pass

people and break from a straight line dimension is

addressed, “The elevators... are moving up, down

and diagonally for passing. The varying speeds and

differing directions allow each elevator to fi nd its

own path to a requested address. This creates a

vertical highway and a dedicated logistical matrix.

Each elevator moves individually.”

Experiencing an elevator however is nothing

compared to walking or riding down the street.

Usually in a typical elevator you are enclosed in

a box with no view of what is outside. There are

exterior elevators which give you a view but does

not give a sense of where you are in the building.

Several ideas such as placing a mirror can refl ect

your location vertically or having a monitor project

an image from the outside to whatever direction your

going to. This is further explored in the diagrams in

the next page.

Fig 4.42 Monolab’s High Rise Tower

91

skyopen view

vehicularexpress elevators

pedestrian

local elevators

pedestrian

local elevators

buildingsbuildings

street perspectivevanishing point

skyopen view

buildings buildings

vertical perspective

mirror

elevator

monitor

camera

elevator

skyopen view

verti-street perspective

mirror

Fig 4.43 Street and Exterior Elevators

Fig 4.44 View Perspectives

Fig 4.45 Verti-Street Perspective

92

Ground Activation Program

The diagram below shows a conceptual diagram

of how the spatial city will connect and activate

the ground level. There will be two main entrances

where the main primary elevators will be located

for quick transportation to the main commercial

zones, or one can walk down into a series of other

secondary elevators which goes to the residential

spaces.

The rest of the ground level will become divided into

smaller lots with three to fi ve story retail commercial

and residential spaces on the fl oors above it.

Before the spatial skyscraper is populated with

residents, the ground level will act as a market

for the agriculture goods produced in the farming

modules. The number of elevators are going to be

limited because it wont be needed as much.

Fig 4.46 Site

93

Fig 4.1 http://www.davidmacd.com/web_pages/scenic_photos_canada_usa.htmhttp://thefreegeorge.com/thefreegeorge/elevator-music-16-review-at-the-tang-who-said-elevators-couldnt-be-fun/http://www.werkkrew.com/2008/06/12/whats-so-bad-about-cubicles/http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p226150

Fig 4.2 http://www.lifeinitaly.com/decor/bedrooms.asphttp://thinkorthwim.com/index.php?tag=new-urbanismhttps://www.castleintheair.biz/shoppe/?b=10&k=10&c=125

Fig 4.3 http://www.edinphoto.org.uk/0_STREET/0_street_views_-_arden_street_2006_barry_nelson.jpghttp://photoshoptutorials.ws/creative-inspirations/photography/18-spectacular-aerial-city-photos.htmlhttp://www.nycvp.com/frames/theater/central_park.htm

Fig 4.22 http://www.17thwardstl.com/wordpress.com/?p=1116http://www.fl ickr.com/photos/fl ydime/384397661/http://ecoble.com/2009/09/08/the-worlds-most-amazing-wind-farms/http://allaboutroswell.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/mountain-biking.jpg

Fig 4.23 http://www.thehighline.org/

Fig 4.31 http://www.corbisimages.com/Enlargement/74320.html

Fig 4.42 http://www.archdaily.com/25317/monolabs-high-rise-tower/

Fig 4.43 http://www.edinphoto.org.uk/0_STREET/0_street_views_-_arden_street_2006_barry_nelson.jpghttp://www.fl ickr.com/photos/travisimages/2867753742/

Images

94

95

Quantitative Program

Developmentpart 5

96

No Development

Vertical Planes

Farming = 65%

Circulation = 10%

Ecological Trail (Wetland)= 25%

Horizontal Planes

Farming/Open = 40%

Circulation = 10%

Ecological Parks (Wetland)= 50%

Developed and Open Area

Developed = 0%

Farming/Open = 100%

Before the tower might be developed and populated

with residents and businesses, the use would be

primarily farming and recreation for the existing

population surrounding the site. Ecological wetlands

will have functioning as a biofi ltration system for the

surrounding context as well.

97

Maximum Development

Vertical Planes

Developed = 30%

Farming = 30%

Circulation = 20%

Ecological Trail= 20%

Horizontal Planes

Developed = 40%

Circulation = 10%

Ecological Parks = 50%

Developed and Open Area

Developed = 50%

Farming/Open = 50%

Built Area

Referenced on New Urbanism Development

Public/Civic = 10-15%

Commercial = 10-40%

Residential = 50-80%

Civic Buildings

City Hall

Community Center

Courthouse

Clinic

Library

Post Offi ce

School

When the tower is fully developed, there is a balance

between the built on spaces and agriculture spaces.

The built area is zoned civic, commercial, and

residential, based on New Urbanism Development.

There should have a collection of civic buildings,

such as city hall, community center, courthouse,

clinics, libraries, post offi ce, and public schools.

98

Support Programs

Welcome Center

Cistern

Waste Disposal

Maintenance and Storage

Other support programs such as a Welcome

Center for guests who are new to the idea of spatial

urbanism. Water collection and water storage is also

important for the recycling of water. Waste disposal

just like any other urban environment for proper

disposal of waste. There will also be a place for

maintenance and storage for maintenance workers

who work on tower.

99

100

101

Schematic Site and Building

Designpart 6

102

Three Planes

The spatial city has three skyscrapers connected to

each other, and each skyscraper is divided into three

planes. The build and farming plane, the vertical

transportation plane, and the ecological plane. The

vertical transportation plane is not as noticeable in

the exterior because it is sandwiched between the

build plane and the eco plane.

The relationship of these places are arranged this

was to create an enclosed private space on the build

plane, and a semi public place on the ecological

plane. This will allow for a street like space between

the build and eco plane.

The two top images on Fig 6.2 shows what if the built

plane is used for modular farming, and as people

move in will be replaced with modular units. The

four images below it also shows the openness and

also private, semi-private, semi-public and public

experience.

build and farming plane

vertical transportation plane

ecological plane

Fig 6.1 Three Plane System

103

Fig 6.2 plane diagrams

104

The build plane structure will have a pre-fabricated

frame which attaches to the main structural

columns. Fig 6.3 shows how modular beams can

attach to the frame structure. The structure of the

unit modules connect to the modular beams. The

structure of the may differ, but the common design

will be a cantilever truss structure as most modules

will cantilever. Below is a collection of case study

images of existing cantilever structures as well as

diagrams of how a enveloped space is attached to

a cantilever truss.

Cantilever House / Anderson Anderson ArchitectureLamar Construction Headquarters, Grand Rapids

Seoul National University Museum of Art, Seoul, South Korea

Emilio Caraffa Fine Arts Provincial Museum, cordoba

Build Plane

Fig 6.4 Frame and Buildings Structure

Fig 6.3 Pre-fab Frame

105

Below is images that show the density of the

buildings present in the vertical plane. There are

two concentrations of densities. One concentration

is in the bottom, centered on the commercial

zone. The other concentration is above, which is

a separate community or neighborhood. This is to

show that communities can be created at different

elevations on a spatial city. Because the commercial

areas are the busiest zones, placing the residential

zoning around it will let it be a natural center for the

community. This also helps minimize travel distance

from live spaces to work spaces. The agricultural

spaces are also between residential spaces for

short distance access as well.

commercial

residential

clean industrial(agriculture and wind farming)

clean industrial(agriculture and wind farming)

residential

residential

residential

commercial

Fig 6.5 Vertical Build Density and Primary Use

106

Fig 6.6 Build Frame

The image below is a early study of how the build

frame which look like a mesh or space frame like

structure attaches to the main structural columns.

The structural columns needs to be able to carry

lateral loads as most of the modules cantilever into

only one direction. The main structure also holds

the ecological plane which includes the trail and

adaptive skin.

107

Fig 6.7 Buildings

Fig 6.7 shows isolated views of the unit modules.

The fl at side of the masses is the front of the

buildings, which faces the “street”, while the other

side is like the “backyard” which faces into different

view of the city. Some of them facing the other side

of the another tower which could create a nice view

of the eco plane.

108

The ecological plane includes accessible to steep

trails, small garden and park areas, as well as the

wetland systems. The diagrams below show how

this plane might look like because it needs to have

a natural and or random form which contrast the

build plane. This will provide a sense of organic

nature when your looking at or when your in the

skyscraper trails. The wide variety of travel choices

also provides a sense of choosing your own path

just like in typical large park trail system.

Because my site is in a cold climate, this plane would

need to be enclosed to create a greenhouse effect.

The image shown in fi g 6.10 is a mass model of

this surface and how it could adapt to the seasonal

climate.

Fig 6.9 Trail Types

Fig 6.8 Deforming the Trail

Ecological Plane

green = wetlandblue = accessible trailsblack = random trails

109

The eco plane mass was created by overlapping

several fl at planes on top of each other and extruding

a linear center which then creates a series of curved

intersecting planes creating dynamic surfaces.

The curves varies in length and height and width

depending on its location in relation with the zoning

use. The length extends farthest the most in the

commercial level. The width is the shortest in the

residential level, followed by the commercial level,

then the largest width for the farming for agriculture.

The height is also larger in the farming level for a

more open space and more sun light penetration.

Fig 6.10 Adaptive Skin

110

20 minute walk or 10 minute bikeapprox 200’1 mile trail distance

ADA trail slope 1:12

farming zoneapprox 400’

buildable zoneapprox 400’

Fig 6.11 Vertical Distances

The measurement of the distanced for the zoning

is based on the 20 minute walk, or 10 minute bike

ride radius, translated into a line. The distance from

the end of a residential zone is approximately 200’

high or 1 mile of trail distance if it sloped on ADA

standards of 1:12. This means that anybody living

within this distance is ideal to travel by foot or by

bike to the main commercial levels without having to

use the vertical lifts.

111

Fig 6.12 Ecological Plane

Fig 6.12 shows an early model of the ecological

plane which is basically the interweaving different

types of slopes. The early study helped determine

how the width of the trails might differ in different

levels by relating them with the zone type, which

can be then used to model the mass the fi nal eco

plane. There is a combination of 1:12 slopes, almost

horizontal slopes, and steep slopes for variation of

trail and landscapes.

112

Fig 6.13 Ground

Digital Model

services

major connection

major connection

market

plaza

The ground level of the site has two dead end

streets. Shown in fi g 6.13 these can serve as major

connections to the towers. The existing plaza can be

untouched by elevating the tower over it. This plaza

can act as a community area with a marketplace

development along one side of it of the road.

Services can be placed on the basement spaces of

the tower or the end of west tower far from the plaza.

A park can be developed near the major connection

on the west tower.

Fig 6.14 Top View

B

113

----Fig 6.15 Section B

Shown on fi g 6.15 is a section through the site.

It shows how all the towers are connected in two

areas, primarily in the most dense areas of the tower

through horizontal street bridges. The west tower

and the central tower are connected through the

ecological trails for more possibilities of connection

to the central tower which is not connected through

vertical circulations with the ground. The diagonals

you see are how the ecological trails might slope.

The trail at the end should look more unpredictable

and enclosed.

Fig 6.16 shows the different main use zones. The

orange represent where the residential unit modules

would be, and the red represents where most of

the commercial unit modules would be. This area

is where the concentration of density will be. The

ecological trails and parks are colored green and

found throughout the tower. The ideal agricultural

area is also found on the west tower which faces

south. The central tower and the east tower catches

the most wind from its orientation to the lake and

also from the spring and winter winds.

114

Fig 6.16 Building Use

red = commercialorange= residential

green = trails/parks/open spaces

ideal agricultural area

ideal wind farming area

ideal wind farming area

115

The section boxes below shows the different typical

section boxes of the early designs. It shows the

relationship of the built density and open spaces, as

the density increases, the open spaces increases,

and the density of the trails increases.

Fig 6.17 Section Boxes

116

Fig 6.18 Typical Section

117

Fig 6.19 South View

118

growing beds

growing beds

growing beds

fish tank

fish tank

office

office

rest area

rest area

pump and tank

pump and tank

restroom

restroom mech

storage

storageshelf

wash area

work and wash area

work area

work area

growing beds

work area

Farming Module

There are two types of farming module. One is a

community farm where the locals can grow their own

vegetables and fi sh. The other is a production farm,

which is run by local farmers who profi t by selling the

produce to local groceries or restaurants.

There will also be a farming and wetland laboratory

which regulates and inspects the production of

food as well as the maintenance of a balanced

wetland ecology. This laboratory is for the farmer

to work right next to researchers and scientists

to fi nd improvements of aquaponics farming and

biofi ltration systems. There is also an auditorium

where locals are invited to learn and or contribute

knowledge and ideas about systems as they

become part of maintaining the ecology.

Fig 6.20 Community Farm (1 spatial unit)

119

storage

packagingand distribution

offices for scientistswork area for farmers and landscapers

auditorium

community

dining room

labs

vegerables

fish

wetland

others

growing beds fish tank

pump and tank

storage

cartswash areawork area

growing beds

growing beds

growing beds

fish tankpump

and tank

mech

storageshelf

carts

work area

Fig 6.21 Production Farm (1 spatial unit)

Fig 6.22 Farming and Wetland Lab

120

121

Design Development

part 7

122

Site

Below, Fig 7.1, is the site plan showing the street

level as a public plaza for the community which can

be turned into a gathering place and a market place.

To activate the ground level further, there will be

buildable lots for mixed use buildings. The lots are

going to be smaller than the typical lots surrounding

the site for a more diverse use in a small space.

You can also see the dead ends of the existing site

which now meets at the same area with the vertical

bus transportation system. Only the West V Plane

and the East V Plane vertical circulations meet the

ground through the Vertical Bus and also the Vertical

Taxis.

Fig 7.1 Site Plan

new ground lots

n co

lum

bus

dr

n ne

w s

t

n m

cclu

rg c

t

north

city

front

pla

za d

r

north

lake

shor

e dre north water

chicago river

wacker dr

e illinois st

e grand ave

123

Reclamation Plan

The footprint of the site I am using is about 280,000

sq ft. If there was a spatial city a hundred times

bigger (643 acres) over the Chicago skyline , a total

of about 800,000,000 sq ft (18300 acres) of land

can be reclaimed on the south end of Chicago. The

reclaimed site is a 15 mile, 1 hour bike ride through

an already present bike trail. The result would be a

wildlife ecosystem fl ourishing in the reclaimed land

as well as ecosystems in the spatial city downtown.

Fig 7.2 Site Plan

c h i c a g o

15 miles1 hour bike ride

280,000 sqft x10028,000,000 sqft (643 acres)

8,000,000 sqft x100800,000,000 sqft (18365 acres)

build

reclaim

--

-

-

--

-

-

w i l d l i f e p o p u l a t i o nf o o d d e s e r tp a r k sb i k e r o u t em e t r ar e c l a i mb u i l d u p

whitetail deer lang elliot warbler

124

Diagrams

The next few diagrams shows a summary of how the

spatial towers work. Fig 7.3 shows the how the tower

is divided into the different main uses ranging from

commercial, to dense and light residential, farms,

parks and civic areas.. Fig 7.4 shows diagrams of

some of the different studied concepts that was

mentioned in the previous chapters. The static

and dynamic diagram shows where the modular,

developing, and ever changing spaces are. The live

work plan diagram shows how human activity works

in the tower. The biofi ltration diagram shows how

the rainwater is collected, distributed throughout

the tower, bio fi ltered through the wetland trail, then

recycled. The circulation diagram shows the different

typed of vertical transportations, with the vertical but

that connects all major levels, mainly commercial,

and the vertical taxi as the switch able lane lifts

which is slower but more effi cient as it connects to all

levels without having to stop very often. The winter

and summer diagrams shows how the building can

adapt with seasonal weather change.

Fig 7.5 shows a summary of the 3 layer plane

system which makes up the towers. There is the

build plane using a 3D grid, the circulation plane

which are the vertical and horizontal streets, and

also the ecological plane which holds the natural

ecosystems, wetland water fi ltration, and parks. Fig

7.6 shows a more detail explosion of the different

planes and how they attach to each other.

Fig 7.3 Uses

Level 10' - 0"

Level 210' - 0"

farms

farms

light residential units

light residential units

dense residential units

dense residential units

mixed use commercialmajor park

major park

ground center

civic buildings

light residential units

light residential units

ground buildings

ground connections

dense residential units

dense residential units

mixed use commercialconnections and night life

mod

ules

mod

ules

ecol

ogic

al fa

cade

125

Fig 7.4 Diagrams

126

buildings buildable frame vertical circulation main structure eco planemodular,adapting

residential, commercial

fixed,pre-fabricated connections for buidlings

fixed,additive

dependent on population

fixed,site for wetlands,

parks, and agriculture

fixed,supports buildable frame, circulation,

and eco plane

build plane

circulation plane

ecological plane

grid

irregular

density widthagriculture

residential

commercial

primary

horizontal connection to existing context or other spatial urban towers

connects ground and other main horizontals. fast.

two lane lifts. passing and stopping. connects to all levels. slow.secondaryvertical

system connectionsmodular building

one volume unit

two volume units

three volume units

volume lot

Fig 7.5 3 Layer Plane

Fig 7.6 Exploded

127

3D model

The next couple of images shows different

perspectives on how the three towers interact with

each other. Fig 7.7 shows the south west view which

is where you can see most of the modular units.

Fig 7.8 shows the north west view where you can

see how these three towers are connected in the

commercial level. The ecological plane also extends

where trails bridge two of the towers.

Fig 7.7 SW View

128

Fig 7.8 NW View

129

[a]

[b]

[c]

[com 01]

nbc tower626 ft

643 ft

1600 ft

river east center

[west v plane] [east v plane][central v plane]

[com 02]

ada 1:12 slope/200 ft:1 mile20 min walk 10 min bike

Elevations

Fig 7.9 East

Fig 7.10 South

130

Fig 7.11 West

Fig 7.12 North

131

[ n b c t o w e r ]e x i s t i n g c o m m e r c i a l

[ r i v e r e a s t c e n t e r ]e x i s t i n g r e s i d e n t i a l

[ h i g h w a t e r s t r e e t ]t h r e e l a n e v e r t i b u s

w e t l a n d

a d a p t i n g s k i n

m o d u l e s

v e r t i t a x i

m a i n s t r u c t u r e

m a i n s t r u c t u r e

v e r t i t a x i

w e t l a n d

[ f i r s t h m a i n s t r e e t ]

[ f ir s

t h m

a i n s

t r ee t ]

[ h b r i d g e s t r e e t ]c o n n e c t i n g s t r e e t

[ h i g h i l l i n o i s s t r e e t ]t h r e e l a n e v e r t i b u s

c o m m u n i t y c e n t e r

w e s t v p l a n e

c e n t r a l v p l a n e

e a s t v p l a n e

p u b l i c c o m m u n i t y c o r e

Levels

Fig 7.13 Commercial 1

Fig 7.14 Com Circulation and Use

Fig 7.13 shows a plan of the commercial level .The

intersecting streets in the level creates a natural

community gathering area at its intersections.

In the commercial 1 level also, there is the main

stops from the high water street and high illinois

street vertical buses. Wetlands make up some of

the ecological trail, but there are spaces for small

parks and recreational areas at each end of each

tower. The ecological plane creates a diverse eco

system just in front of the modules. You can also

see that the modules with different exterior facades

create different individual identity for each module.

The different units create a strong community while

being strong in individuality.

Fig 7.14 shows the circulation and the main building

use, with red as commercial use, blue as residential,

and purple as civic.

132

Fig 7.15 Commercial 2

Fig 7.16 Typical Residential

Fig 7.17 Agriculture

Similar to commercial one but higher in

elevation. No horizontal connection to

existing skyscrapers.

Smaller modular units and limited connection

because the spaces are more private.

Ecological trail is less wider compared to

commercial levels.

Very open fi xed spaces to collect light for

growing plants and vegetables. No modular

units and no build planes. The systems for

agriculture are built into the structure for a

more permanent function.

133

a d a p t i v e p a n e l s

s p a c e f r a m e

w e t l a n d s u r f a c e

w e t l a n d b a r r i e r

v e g e t a t e d s u r f a c e

v e g e t a t e d s u r f a c e

d r a i n a g e

p r e - f a b g i r d e r

v e r t i t a x i

t r a n s p a r e n t p a n e l s

r e i n f o r c e d c o n c r e t e s l a b

s e r v i c e m o d u l e

[ b ]

m o d u l a r b e a m s

b u i l d a b l e f r a m e

Fig 7.19 Detail

Fig 7.18 Section Box

The detail below shows how the unit module sample

[b] is attached to the buildable frame through

modular beams and also attached to a service

module. It also shows how vegetated surfaces can

attach to a service module. The ecological planes

section has three types of surfaces, which is solid

reinforced concrete slab for street, vegetated

surface for plants, and wetland surface for the

wetland system. The adaptive panels are attached

with a space frame. Under each fl oor is a roof of

transparent panels able to illuminate the lower level

with LED lights built into it.

Details

134

Fig 7.20 Adaptive Skin

The panels for the adaptive skin are fl exible

polycarbonate panels which attaches to a

mechanism able to fl ex them open or closed by

lifting two corners up or down. The adaptive skin

is essential in Chicago climate because of its cold

winters. Fig 7.21 shows different sample modules

that I have designed to see how the structure of

the modular units may look as different sized. The

structure has little effect on the possibilities of fl oor

plans, however, considerations of neighboring

modular units and the site (the eco plane) must be

part of the design process.

135

[ a ]

[ b ]

[ c ]

4 volume lots, mixed use commercial modules[1][2] [3]

2 volume lots, medium family residential[1]

[1]

[2]

1 volume lot, single or small family residential

Fig 7.21 Sample Module Units

136

Bridge

Renderings

137

Day Market

138

Night Life

139

140

141

142

Thesis Conclusion

Most of the process of my thesis is exploring how

urbanism can evolve into being designed in a three

dimensional space instead of a two dimensional

map. The direction from the research went to the

studies of lines, connections, and planes and how

that relates to public and private spaces, streets and

landscapes, which became the basis of developing

the form and function of the building. As I developed

how the residential and commercial zoning relate

to each other in three dimensional form, the

ecological aspect of trying to create greenspaces,

agricultural spaces, and wetland areas developed

from being horizontal spaces to have a diagonal

importance. It became what would be the bike and

pedestrian streets. Wetland biofi ltration systems

also is important to purify water to be recycled and

help create or preserve a biodiversity in the towers.

The modular units which are the buildings of the

spatial city are also explored up to the level of the

type of structure and how much units one module

may take and it what form. I believe that the ability

to decide the size of the modules and the ability to

create unique fl oor plans and facades promotes

individual identity in a community. Agriculture

spaces is important to bring food close to people. It

is a program that could either be fi xed permanently

into the structure or modularized and able to move if

the space will be replaced with a building. However,

if it is modularized, there needs to be a location

where it can be moved to or recycled properly. This

idea is open to either option, but I chose for it to be

permanent mostly so that it cannot be threatened to

be replaced by higher profi t uses.

Because of the variety of experiences I was trying

to design from all the programs, I found out that

there was a need for a variety of forms. There is

the rigid build plane, the linear interweaving vertical

lifts, the dynamic agriculture and ecological plane,

and of course the ever developing modular units.

I found these components to have mostly a planar

relationship with each other. From the design

process, urbanism, vertical planes can provide

more freedom of layered infrastructure and ecology

compared to trying to build horizontally.

The addition of a reclamation plan in my project

helps reverse urban sprawl and give back land

to species a natural ecology for them to thrive in.

In the city context, the one spatial community will

take on skyscraper form but eventually as more

communities are built suspended in their own three

dimensional space, connections can be made in

different strategic levels and the tower will not be

seen as a tower but rather a single piece of a larger

urban ecology.

143

v e r t i c a l f r a m e

c o n n e c t i o n si r r i g a t i o n s y s t e m s3 D z o n i n gc i r c u l a t i o nt r a n s p o r t a t i o np u b l i c b u i l d i n g s a n d p a r k sa g r i c u l t u r a l d e v e l o p m e n to p e n s p a c e s

e v o l v i n ge c o l o g i c a l s p a t i a l

u r b a n i s mr e s i d e n t i a l d e v e l o p m e n tc o m m e r c i a l d e v e l o p m e n tc l e a n i n d u s t r i a lr e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h e x i s t i n g c o n d i t i o n s

archetypal skyscraper

spatial urbanism

s m a l l f o o t p r i n t , d e n s e

s i m i l a r i n d i v i d u a l i d e n t i t y , s t a t i c f l o o r s , p r e - d e f i n e d s p a c e s , u n a d a p t a b l e , “ v e r t i c a l c u l - d e - s a c ” , l i m i t e d e x p e r i e n c e .

urban

l a r g e f o o t p r i n t , s c a t t e r e d , v e h i c u l a r d e p e n d e n c y , d i s r u p t s l a n d s c a p e a n d n a t u r a l e c o l o g y

d i v e r s e i n d i v i d u a l i d e n t i t y , s t r e e t , u n - d e f i n e d s p a c e s , a d a p t a b l e , h u m a n i z e d .

. . .

s m a l l f o o t p r i n t , d e n s e , d i v e r s e i n d i v i d u a l i d e n t i t y , d y n a m i c f l o o r s , u n - d e f i n e d s p a c e s , a d a p t a b l e , “ v e r t i c a l s t r e e t ” , u n l i m i t e d e x p e r i e n c e , m o d u l a r , h u m a n i z e d .

i n f r a s t r u c t u r e

destroys ecologyspread:

stacked: prom

otes

eco

logy

e c o l o g y

b u i l d i n g s

biofiltration / water purificationwaste to energyfood / aquaponic farming

Spatial Urbanism

Ecology and Infrastructure

Ecological Spatial Urbanism