The Health and Wellness Chicago studio has been a great learning experience for each of us. We started this semester looking at HDR's Focal Point Program for our studio projects. The thing that differentiated this semester from the others was that we were given the opportunity to analyze the program and alter it to what we thought was the solution to improving the Health of the people in Lawndale. With valuable insights from architects in Chicago, we were guided and encouraged by several professionals to improve our unique solutions.
Along with the studio project, we visited several Healthcare centers and architecture firms all throughout the semester. This experience gave us insights into the current situation of Healthcare in Chicago and how firms are addressing these issues through architecture proposals. Interaction with professionals calmed my nerves down about talking to architects as a student. This experience served as a perfect transition between academia and the industry, as all of us are graduating this semester.
Until mid-reviews, Alex and I proposed a large mixed-use campus as a solution to this problem. Based on the feedback we received, we continued to develop a Health campus that encouraged physical activity, social interaction and connection to nature. These 3 are some of the factors that contribute to life longevity in the "Blue Zones". We also looked at how the concepts of Social Interaction can be implemented in multi-family housing units. We got most of the "living space" in a unit out into a covered public zone, which would encourage social interaction. We developed a video that gives you a glimpse into this Health Campus, called the Spine.
I am very thankful to Professor Worn for giving us this amazing experience. It has been a very different semester. He not only encouraged us to pursue our own ideas in our studio projects, but also encouraged to give the EDAC exam which I successfully cleared. I also want to take this opportunity to thank all of the professionals who took the time out to meet us and guide us all throughout this semester. This marks the end of our semester but certainly marks the beginning of a new chapter in our lives.