4.White Spots

White Spots Alternative ways of urban development

Master’s Dissertation | Winter 2020 - Spring 2021 Promoter: Martine De Maeseneer Chicago, United States

For my master’s thesis project, I chose the studio “Chicago: My kind of Town”. My Promoter, Prof. Martine De Maeseneer had a completely open mind regarding the topics to choose and develop through the thesis. During the research period, I was looking into the post industrial status in Goose Island. A place that once beamed with factories and warehouses more than a century ago, now left with many buildings awaiting demolition or turning into high-end office spaces. At the same time, the property price growth, specially in the office sector caught my attention. A trend that is pushing many small businesses and entrepreneurs out of cities, only because they are not able to afford the expenses. And a third noticeable trend, was the de-urbanization of cities currently in progress. Where corporate buying of land and clearing out the urban tissue are resulting in the disappearance of variety and diversity in larger cities.

Sharing these findings with my promoter, she introduced me to Eva De Klerk and her work at Amsterdam Noord Shipyard or NDSM, where an abandoned ship manufacturing warehouse had been turned into a self-organized community of creators and artists, who owned the building as a group and built their own workspaces within the added grid. After carefully reading her book, Make your City, through which she clearly lays out the idea of “Stad als Casco” or “City as a shell”, as well as all the steps, thoughts, struggles and efforts that led to the creation and success of NDSM, I decided to take that mindset as an inspiration for my design in Goose Island. To further develop the idea, I chose two different sites with different features. One with high ceilings, wide spans and large, uninterrupted open spaces, and the other one an old furniture manufacturing factory with multiple floors, shorter ceilings and a well-arranged column system.

For the first test site, I’m adding a grid system similar to the one in NDSM, as well as basic facilities like sanitary units, paths and staircases. From that point, as users start to move into the building and form their community, they will build their workplaces within the grid, being allowed to choose between a single, double or triple unit. There are also open areas with no added grid system to allow for exhibitions, markets, gatherings, etc.

In the second test site, I decided to go for a more general approach, one that could be applied to a wider range of buildings, since the second factory had more generic features which are shared between many of the buildings belonging to that era. Therefore, a different grid was designed, which runs in between the columns while with movable panels, users will be able to create their own plans within the building. This way, changes are easily made and spaces could be created or wiped in a matter of minutes, keeping the building fresh and responding to the changing needs of its users.

Choosing Test Sites

The North Branch’s distinctive urban character is distinguished by its namesake waterway, which fostered the area’s industrial development and nearby rail and expressway construction. The landscape is punctuated by material silos, large industrial equipment, rail lines, vehicular and railroad bridges and viaducts, sea walls, highway embankments, and many masonry industrial buildings.

Approximately 60 buildings, structures, and industrial features throughout the corridor have been identified as having unique historical, architectural, or another impact on the corridor environment. As the area transitions to a more mixed-use employment center, the corridor’s unique physical and natural assets can be integrated into a modern, functional job center. R2 is an integrated, private equity real estate firm with offices in Chicago, Milwaukee, and Minneapolis. They were founded in 2006 and “develop, operate and invest in real estate assets in high barrier-to-entry markets with favorable supply and demand fundamentals”. Among the 50 buildings that they own in Chicago, Louisville, Milwaukee, and Minneapolis, 4 of them are located on Goose Island and salt district. Two of these buildings have been chosen as test sites which will be explained later on.

Properties owned by R2 group on Goose Island which are considered character buildings

Design Approach

The high ceilings of this building, combined with wide spans and uninterrupted area, make it a great candidate to try and emulate a similar space to NDSM. By adding a grid system that only includes stairs and platforms, tenants/ owners will be able to create their own, specific workspaces within the given structural system. This approach provides great flexibility for the users, as well as keeping renovation costs to a minimum.

Design Approach

The perfect order of columns in this building along with vast, uninterrupted floor spaces and similar columns makes it a great potential to be used as a flexible workspace. The two buildings, one 6 stories high and the other one three, provide plenty of floor area to be used by many groups and/ or individuals. A grid system is added to each floor which combined with sliding panels, provides endless planning options for any user. Also, this leads to groups being able to modify their space through time. The grid and panels are made of affordable materials such as aluminum and fiberglass, keeping the renovation costs as low as possible.

Stairs

As part of the grid, Stairs and runways are added in order to create access to the second level of units.

The Grid

Following the example of NDSM Shipyard, a grid is added to the building containing column, floor and roof. The grid is made of steel and concrete for the roof and floor. This way, users will be able to create their own workspace within the prepared guidelines.

Units

As owners and tenants will have to create their own workspace, they will be creating unique units that fits their needs perfectly. They will be allowed to use between 1 and 3 spans in width and one span in depth to create their space.

Open Spaces

Areas with a lower ceiling are kept open so they will be available for any public event. These events range from markets and exhibitions to gatherings, etc.

Sanitary Units

Considered as essentials, sanitary units are created along the main grid. Each area has one since workspaces do not contain infrastructure for toilets.

The Grid

The grid has been created in a way to avoid the expansion at the top of columns. Therefore, it runs through them with two lines, allowing panels to move effortlessly through the floor. This way, users will not have to move their walls if other groups need to make adjustments to their own space.

Common Rooms

Common rooms act as an acoustically private area for the users of each floor, since they have floorto-ceiling panels Each group can use them in case of conferences or any activity that requires a more quiet atmosphere. These rooms are included as basic elements of each floor similar to sanitary units, the grid system, and panels.

Sanitary Units

Sanitary units are placed Along the edges in order to maximize the grid potential through the floors, keeping it uninterrupted.

Urban Farming

Protected from the wind by the taller building, the roof has great potential to be used as an urban garden.

Stairs and Lifts

Vertical transportations have not been moved. They all use the cores which have already existed in the original plans of the building.

Panel Stacks

The two-way grid system allows panels to move in both X and Y directions. They can be stacked by the walls while they are not needed, and moved if users need them to create/modify a space.

Rotating Wheels

Aluminum Frame

Noise insulator made of lightweight Polyethylene foam

Two-way aluminum rails enabling doors to slide side by side

Handles

Fiberglass panels, acting as additional sound proofing and cover