This blog post is an update to the mid-review post, on how our final project developed. Below is a virtual reality video we created of our design. You can find the video here: https://vimeo.com/266893501
In our final proposal we are addressing population health, and how we can design a healthy community. Using an urban design approach, we decentralized HDR’s Focal Point program to create better accessibility for the neighborhood, and we decided to use an existing amenity (the historic boulevard + Douglas park) to promote activity and community engagement. The Community Master Plan highlights different community network cycles we created, and for the final we developed the "Specialized School Zoning". In this zone we are redeveloping the boulevard, introducing recreational activities, an urban farming network, and a new Lawndale High School for Health and Food Sciences.
At the midterm we wanted to created this canopy system that would serve as the brand for the “Hospital Without Walls;” but decided to redefine the street for the final. Within redefining the street, we’ve created three typologies that we want the neighborhood to choose from; that way the end users have more say in the outcome.
Within the Urban Farming network we want to use empty lots along the boulevard, and introduce greenhouses and plots of land for growing food. The Lawndale High School for Health and Food Sciences will teach kids how to live healthy lifestyles and how to grow their own food. This high school steps outside the traditional standard for a school, and the lower levels are designed as a community amenity. Their kitchen will be an open demonstration kitchen, where the students will prepare food for their peers; and their cafeteria is positioned near the amphitheater so that students have a choice between eating inside or outside the facility. The open kitchen will also open to the community on the weekends and could potentially serve as a soup kitchen for the homeless. Surrounding the school, there is an orchard that will be maintained by the students, but accessible to the community.
Here are our final presentation boards:
Overall our final review exhibition was a huge success. We got positive feedback from our reviewers, and a few even suggested that we take our video to the alderman. We were given some resources of places we could find additional information about the health of the community. If we move forward with proposing our ideas to the alderman, we would need to show them how our designs will have a direct positive impact on the community’s health, and be able to visually represent the Return on Investment (ROI).
As a result, our project was nominated for the Graduate Student Design Excellence Award. This is a highlight for Noopur and I; as we had many high hopes and goals that were achieved in our last semester.
I hope you enjoy! If you have any questions feel free to reach out to me or my studio partner Noopur Thakkar at: avdavis2@illinois.edu | noopurt2@illinois.edu
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