Destination Chicago

Tuesday and Wednesday we had the opportunity to travel to Chicago in order to study the architecture and visit our theoretical site at the corner of S. Wabash Ave and E. Van Buren St. On Tuesday we took a boat tour of Chicago. This helped me to better understand the history of architecture in Chicago and document the greater context of our site. We were able to study the built precedents in and around the loop.

The Aqua Building was an interesting example to study because the width of each balcony varies according to its position on the building. This allows sunlight to enter the building as well as illuminate the balcony spaces.
On Wednesday we visited Near North Montessori School, where we learned about Montessori teaching methods and received a tour of the school. Several of thier building techniques could be applied to any school. I noticed that at the Montessori school, the children's height was considered. For example, the name tags on the lockers were placed at a lower height for younger children and higher up for older children. We also learned that they use the hallway for more than just circulation. If the students need a large open space they might go out into the hallway to work. After discussing our experience at Near North, Danielle and I decided to re-think our decision about having two entrances. We would like to have more entrances for egress reasons. We also learned that children who grow up in the city are more used to moving vertically, so we are not as concerned about having many floors.
Danielle and I also discussed the site conditions we saw that have changed the way we think about our project. We decided that our building could either embrace the train or distance itself from the train. Either way, we realized that we cannot disregard the noise of the train or the shadows created by the raised railway.