URBD 501, Design Charrette at Theaster Gates’s Rebuild Foundation, Stony Arts Bank, Chicago, IL., February 15-16, 2018

Urbanism 5.0 studio participated in 2-day design charrette at the Rebuild Foundation at Stony Arts Bank, Chicago, IL. Students met with the founder of Rebuild, toured its facilities, and studied its initiatives and programs. The goal of the charrette was to reimagine the derelict St. Laurence school in the South Side, Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood, in Chicago as a new center and catalyst for neighborhood revitalization.

As part of this semester studio’s focus on new digital infrastructure, students were asked to present arguments for what and how to integrate theory and practice of IoT, IoP and other current technologies in the infrastructure of the renovated school and in the programs offered. Students addressed ways to integrate technologies into the process as well as the final design, whether as the final goal or the means to the end. Four student teams developed and presented scenarios for new kinds of public commons enabled by analog and digital technologies.

Our hosts were:

Theaster Gates, Founder and Director, Rebuild Foundation

Mallory McClaire, Director of Executive Administration Rebuild Foundation

Lori A. Berko, Esq., Deputy Director, Arts + Public Life

Nootan Bharani, Associate Director of Design and University Partnerships, Arts + Public Life