Up there

ARCH 4002 #006

01. Thesis

The studio is based on the thesis that the city of the future cannot be discussed without (re)introducing local, slow, and integrated productive networks into the urban fabric. Living and working conditions must be compatible with spatial and social structures, keeping density high and mobility low.

We will challenge our traditional binary thinking, which separates man from nature, buildings from the landscape, and cities from the countryside. We will search for the compatibility limits between productive, residential, and recreational urban structures. We will investigate the benefits of a complex, vertical, multilayered city and explore an integrative path that blends urban efficiency with rural resilience in search of new domains for the uncertain future of posturban developments.

02.Out There

The studio aims to complete the investigation started by the “Out There” graduate design studio during the fall of 2022. Then, the students proposed human-centered settlements built around productive programs found in the rural areas of Ohio. The goal was to define spaces and programs that could challenge the way humans live, work, and play together in the rural context of Akron and the abandoned rubber bowl stadium.

In that sense, we are going to recover and extend the lines of investigation initiated by your senior graduate colleagues. Specifically, the programs that we are going to integrate will be the same ones that they developed during last semester, which will be introduced to you in a joint session.

Those programs are:

> Pixel Farming research center

> Urban Winery

> Textile production/design center

> Urban Distillery & biofuel factory

> Timber fabrication lab

> Prosthetic rehabilitation/research center

03.Up There: Where

We will be working at the edge of Cincinnati’s downtown and the banks. We will use our structures to cover I-71 and overcome the city’s current divisive nature at this point. Collectively, we will assign available programs to individual plots, based on the specific requirements each one of them needs to perform at its best. We will also investigate Cincinnati’s building code to learn how to negotiate vertical growth in dense downtown areas.

04 Up There: What

In a nutshell, the studio asks to develop a proposal for a vertical settlement that includes residential, productive and recreational activities. We will pay attention not just to the programmatic and functional development of the tower, but also, we will look into the ground floor in detail, as this is the main element for urban integration and for the construction of a continuous and active urban landscape.

Finally, the studio will carefully consider technological options. This includes material, tectonic, and thermodynamic strategies that will inform your designs. The development of those systems need to be imaginative and experimental, but also coherent and consistent.

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