Culture House

Third year studio - Professor: Amanda Williams

The purpose of this project was to invent a program that would benefit and bring new life to Chicago’s unique, albeit less visited neighborhoods. My project, located in Uptown on the city’s north side, strove to encourage inter-neighborhood travel between Chicagoans by including a mixture of different programs, the most important being a space for Chicago’s many influential cultural institutions to share as a rotating exhibit area. A neighborhood information center and bicycle repair/ info center also help comfort and give residents a reason to travel to a different neighborhood they may never have considered visiting before.

Dinosaurs today, art tomorrow

In an effort to encourage travel between Chicago's neighborhoods, my project features exhibit space that would be shared between Chicago's many world-class museums.

The big idea

Chicago's cultural institutions, which had formerly been centered downtown, now have a presence throughout the entire city by means of the Culture Houses that dot its neighborhoods.

Conceptual model

This conceptual model used museum brochure fragments and Uptown newspaper article clippings to illustrate that downtown's many cultural institutions now have a connection to the neighborhood.

Site location and urban context

The project is located in the heart of Uptown, at the corner of West Wilson Ave. and North Broadway. It is directly across the street from an important "L" stop so as to be especially convenient to visitors taking public transit.

1. Site

The project is situated on a unique corner lot across the street from the Wilson CTA “L” Station

2. Back of house

The project was designed around the needs of storage, loading, and other back-of-house functions that each need access to the side street behind the building.

3. Initial form

The building's form was influenced by the desire to create a public plaza at the corner of Wilson and Broadway.

4. Introduce cantilever

A cantilever is introduced so as to maximize visibility from the street as well as from visitors inside the building.

5. Adjust roof heights

Roof heights are adjusted to address heiarchy of programs inside the building.

Site plan and urban context

The building is located on a bustling corner in the heart of Uptown, directly across the street from the new Wilson CTA “L” station. As part of this project, I reconfigured both Broadway and Wilson Ave. to be more bike-friendly.

First floor plan

1. Public plaza
2. Welcome desk/ Lobby
3. Bike center
4. Staff offices
5. Back-of-house

Floating ramp

This view taken from the building's entry lobby shows a portion of the ramp leading from the second to third floors. Ramps are utilized in an effort to encourage visitors to take their time while visiting.

Second floor plan

1. Neighborhood information center
2. Exhibit space
3. Lounge

Third floor plan

1. Cafe
2. Exhibit space

Lofty spaces

Exhibits occupy spaces on both the second and third floors. A small cafe (in the background) occupies the cantilever and offers views down Broadway.

Longitudinal section "A"

At the midpoint of the ramp is a small cafe. Exhibit space occupies a portion of the space beneath the ramp, while elsewhere the ramp simply floats above the first floor.

Transverse section "B"

Stairs lead up to the second floor from the lobby. From there, ramps take visitors up to the third floor.

Site elevation

This drawing illustrates the building's relation to the CTA "L" station across the street.