THE UPTOWN MARKET WILL SERGE - FALL 2013
IN COLLABORATION WITH
INTRODUCTION The Uptown Market is the collaborative effort of three architecture students and one landscape architecture student through CHICAGO STUDIO and von Weise Associates. The project seeks to analyze and understand how multimodal transportation hubs can revitalize an area. Through our investigations, we gained a better understanding of Chicago, Uptown, and various transportation methods found within the area. This project specifically investigates the renovation and adaptive reuse of the former Uptown Station. In 1922, Arthur Gerber designed the Uptown Station with a classical revival style. The ‘El’ brought tremendous growth to Uptown through its direct connection with Downtown, and as a result The Gerber Building became a central focus for the thriving entertainment district. Because of its placement under the tracks, the Gerber Building degraded with time. It currently lays vacant, aside from the still active Wilson Station. Our intent is to bring this site back to its former glory, becoming a catalyst for growth in the Uptown neighborhood. By analyzing the site through our multidisciplinary lens, we realized the inherent opportunity in The Gerber Building and its surrounding block, and created an innovative and unique program for Uptown. What was once the Uptown Station is reborn as the Uptown Market. The Gerber Building becomes an open, dynamic space housing a mixed-market, restaurant, and cafe. Two vertical farm towers soar above, framing the existing Gerber facade, and supplying the Uptown Market. The central plaza becomes the public fabric that connects these unique spaces. The Uptown Market is about establishing connections: people connect to food, the growing process, the neighborhood, and The Gerber Building becomes the beacon of growth that connects Uptown and Chicago.
THE UPTOWN MARKET
Introduction
4
Concept
12
Idea Generation and Development
16
Design and Details
32
Extracurricular
52
SERGE 3
Site and Context
SERGE 4
Markets Community Based Institutions Entreatment Uptown Theatre Institute of Cultural Affairs
Inspiration Kitchen Wilson Montrose Beach Weiss Hospital
Cornerstone Community Outreach
Weiss Rooftop Garden Uptown Farmer’s Market Wilson
Truman College adw
Bro ay
Graceland Cemetery
SERGE 5
1900
Northwestern Elevated began operation.
1907
1908
1910
Railroad
Located at the south of Wilson Av. Wilson was the North terminal with a station, yard, offices, and shops. Architect William Gibb initial design presented problems with height of the railroad.
1917
1922
1923
1924
1947
The Northwestern Elevated consolidated the upper and lower stations into one entrance. The Northwestern Elevated opened its extension to Evanston over the electrified ground-level tracks of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway.
Also, the two-track line north of Wilson was expanded to four tracks.
Wilson is no longer the North terminal. Upper and Lower Wilson work simultaneously with local and express trains.
Architect Arthur Gerber designed the “lower Wilson” which included the station’s headhouse, trainmen’s rooms and clerk’s office. The neighborhood of Uptown gains recognition due to the fast growth of “Wilson Shops” nearby the station.
Traffic assistant, Peter C. Stohr, hired Frank Lloyd Wright to design The Stohr Arcade Building at the north side of Wilson, between the elevated tracks and Evanston Avenue.
The Stohr Arcade demolished.
Building
was
Arthur Gerber’s designed a Classical Revival building. Gerber’s new building was thought of as the joint between the Northwestern Elevated and the interurban train.
The Chica took contr
McJunkin Advertising A sioned architects Mar large commercial resembled the new across the street.
The 465 feet long McJu located at Broadway.
The Stohr Arcade Building was merely commercial.
Chicago Daily published: Gerber’s extension would relieve some of the congestion at the terminal.
Uptown district became the lar and most popular commercial entertainment area on the c North Side.
SERGE 6
1949
7
1957
1956
1960
1958
1963
The CTA discontinued terminating trains at Wilson. All trains from downtown serving Wilson ran through to Howard or beyond.
ago Transit Authority rol.
Agency commisrshall & Fox a building that Wilson station
Tragedy struck at Wilson station when a CTA train collided with a North. Shore Line train. Initially, seven died and approximately 160 "L" riders were injured.
CTA’s renovation effort declared that the decorative terra cotta arched parapet at the station's corner entrance needed to be removed. CTA embarked on a $1.8 million project to reconstruct about 1,500 feet of right-of-way through Wilson station into a continuous four-track system.
The North Shore Line ceased operations and vacated Wilson station. Only the "L" now using the station and only North-South Route trains stopping, the large waiting room and several platforms were no longer needed. The waiting room was converted into commercial space
unkin Building is
rgest l and city's
The Lower Wilson station entrance was closed and demolished, leaving the stairs to the mezzanine and Upper Wilson exposed to the outside again at street level. A large portion of the lower yard was used to store out of service wood cars.
The population of Uptown declined. Many apartments were subdivided into smaller units, rooming houses, and single-room occupancies more suitable for individuals than families or couples.
SERGE 7
The Gerber Facade
SERGE 8
SERGE 9
North Broadway
Wilson Avenue
SERGE 10
TRACKS: New
Shifting CTA Tracks
SERGE 11
CONCEPT
The City of Chicago issued a Request for Information pertaining to the redevelopment and renovation of the existing Gerber Building and Wilson Station. The Urban Land Institute submitted a report alongside the RFI analyzing the Uptown neighborhood and community, while also suggesting potential uses. It was suggested that The Gerber Building become a combination retail market while retaining its access to Wilson Station. In response to the RFI, we explored ways to enhance the existing station. We embraced the idea of a mixed-market, but wanted to create an experience that was seamless throughout. Instead of investigating the separate Gerber Building and Wilson Station, we decided to design the spaces together: we knew that this proposal could be much more than just a train station and a market.
SERGE 13
Touch
Smell
Material Light Air People
Auditory
Visual
Train People Transit Mechanical
Area People Kitchen Products Waste Mechanical
View Perspective Frame Transparency Rhythm Shadow/light
Atmosphere
Enclosure
Level of Activity Pace Publicity
Grow
Arcade Ramp Promenade Plaza
Dispo se Merchan ts
Connecting people to a sustainable food system
Eat
Doors Stairs Elevators
Enclosure Walls Columns Density Windows
tional Emo
Pathway
Se rv Tou ris ts
e
P
p re
Egress
People Columns Stations
Ha rve st
ers ut
Static
Residents
Proximity
Supply cess Pro dents Stu Co m m
Men Circula tal tion
t an Pl
Density
Ph ys ic Seating Handles Bar Stations
SERGE 14
Columns Glass Steel Wood Structural Functions
Openings Windows Doors Hallways
Material Wood Steel Stone Glass
Sensory
al
Cook Furnishings
Understanding Surprise Clarity Detail Atmosphere
Behavior Communication
Signage
Advertisement Interaction
Train Street Interior Moving Static Exchange Converse
Inspiration Images
SERGE 15
THE DESIGN PROCESS
Due to the collaborative nature of our studio, we actively worked together to address, investigate, and determine the best ways to bring our concept and design to life. While drawings and sketches were the dominant means of communication, the group also looked to renderings as a tool to help visualize an idea. An interactive dialogue was created: speaking through drawing.
Cafe - Prepared Foods
SERGE 17
Community Restaurant
SERGE 18
Open, Mixed Market
SERGE 19
Public Plaza and Corridor
SERGE 20
The Atriums Potential: Light, Energy, and Public Life
SERGE 21
Exploring the Corridor: Movement, Sight, and Mystery
SERGE 22
A Pedestrian Bridge: Connecting Sites, Connecting People
SERGE 23
The Glimpse: Nature in the CIty
SERGE 24
Shifting Infrastructure: Opportunity and Adaptability
SERGE 25
Understanding the Plaza
SERGE 26
Verticality: Realizing the Grow Towers
SERGE 27
Market Development
SERGE 28
The Corridor: Connecting Site to Sidewalk
SERGE 29
The North End: Creating Public Spaces
SERGE 30
Growing Infrastructure: Aquaponics and Water FIltration
SERGE 31
SERGE 32
The Gerber Building and Wilson Station
SERGE 33
SERGE 34
The Uptown Market
SERGE 35
Revisiting Concept
SERGE 36
Axonimetric and Program
SERGE 37
Section: Broadway
SERGE 38
Section: Wilson
SERGE 39
Vertical Farming: Scenes
SERGE 40
Veritcal Farming: Structure
SERGE 41
SERGE 42
Vertical Farming: Details and Aquaponics
Architecturalizing Water Flow
SERGE 43
Site Plan and Diagram
SERGE 44
Street Section: Broadway
SERGE 45
SERGE 46
Aerial Plan and Platform Detail
SERGE 47
Neighborhood Context
SERGE 48
Public Open Space: North Broadway
SERGE 49
SERGE 50
The Uptown Market
SERGE 51