CENTER pt 3

Built brings together the project’s two architectural components: the six-story Horizontal Built and the ten-story Vertical Built. Although composed of separate volumes, these structures operate as a single system through shared programs, interconnected circulation, and communal spaces that reinforce a collective way of living within the complex. Their combined density anchors the project, forming its most active and populated core. Through this integrated configuration, Built supports a continuous flow of activity and strengthens the broader community framework that defines the entire development.

On the ground floor, the architecture opens itself to the city as an extension of the public space. A community kitchen, workshops, brewery, art gallery, and generous lobbies form a dynamic interior landscape where everyday life and creative expression intertwine.

The programs dissolve outward through multiple thresholds and transparent boundaries, connecting seamlessly to a site filled with public green spaces that act as urban breathing rooms and social anchors. Rather than enclosing, the building releases. The ground level becomes a shared terrain where collective life can be maintained.

On the first level, the atmosphere rises into a more contemplative and reflective dimension. The urbanism museum, library, flexible spaces, terraces, and amphitheater hover above the activity below, forming a level of pause and critical thought. Here, the architecture frames views, creates platforms for learning, and strengthens the relationship between interior and exterior through planted balconies and open terraces.

Inner 1/2” steel plate

1/2” bracing steel plate

1/2” main bracing steel plate

Hex head bolt

Inner 1/2” steel plate

CHS section

Hex head bolt

1/2” bracing steel plate

1/2” Steel plate protection

CHS sections anchored to the footing

CHS section

Steel plate anchored with hex head bolt

Concrete footing

20 m deep foundation piles

The architecture weaves collective experience and cultural development into a single, fluid ecosystem, allowing community and spiritual well-being to emerge through spatial encounter. In this merging of communal presence and cultural expression, the architecture becomes a vessel for spiritual health, offering a sense of grounding that is both personal and shared

THIRD PARTY INVESTORS

Certain areas within the building are intentionally designed as adaptable zones that can be activated by third-party investors, such as organizations focused on public health. These partners can introduce prevention clinics that complement the project’s aims, bringing specialized services directly into the everyday flow of the building. At the same time, education is embedded throughout the architectural experience in the form of an elementary school that requires restricted acces that does not deny the users into the rest of the built and public elements.

THIRD PARTY INVESTORS

The building expands its semi-public layer by introducing programs that invite broader participation while remaining connected to the community core. A green observatory provides an elevated landscape for environmental awareness, reflection, and ecological learning. Convention centers serve as adaptable platforms for gatherings, lectures, and cultural exchange, allowing the building to host diverse audiences and events, and the continuation of the elementary school

The upper residential layer introduces three housing typologies—couple units, family units, and studio apartments— each designed to accommodate different stages of life and patterns of living within the same vertical community. Adjacent to the residences, a co-working office space provides a flexible environment for work, collaboration, and creative production

Housing units are organized around communal spaces that include indoor farming areas for fresh, on-site food production, a fully equipped gym that promotes health and well-being, and a central washing center that streamlines daily chores. These shared facilities not only maximize space efficiency within the building but also encourage social interaction, sustainability, and a more connected way of living for all residents.

Studio housing plays a vital role in contemporary urban living by offering an efficient, adaptable, and affordable residential option for individuals and small households. Its compact design maximizes every square meter, providing essential living functions. Studio housing ultimately supports more inclusive, sustainable, and diverse urban communities.

THIRD PARTY

INVESTORS

An ecumenical space is a shared, inclusive environment that welcomes people of different faiths and spiritual backgrounds, providing a neutral setting for reflection, meditation, and community connection. By fostering a sense of peace, belonging, and emotional support.

Wood and wooden materials play a central role in regenerative design by offering a renewable, low-carbon building resource that supports both environmental and human well-being. The integration of wood not only strengthens the building’s environmental performance but also deepens the connection between people and nature, making the space both spiritually grounding and ecologically restorative.

10 cm vegetated cover

Drainage mat

Root-resistant primer

Geotextile membrane

Primer coat

Aluminum membrane

Concrete slab

Summer solstice 4:00pm Winter solstice 4:00pm

Low-temperature heating system through concrete floor

Indirect evaporative cooling

courtain U-Value 1.6 U-Value 2 in ETFE facade

Summer solstice 12:00pm

Passive heating

Winter solstice 9:00am

RHS

1/2” reinforcement plate ETFE

Hex head bolt

1/2” steel plate

Anchor bolt

1/2” steel plate

Reinforced concrete footing

1/2” steel bracket

Hex bolt

20m deep foundation piles

Hex bolt

1/2” reinforcement plate

1/2” steel plate

1/2” steel bracket

The building’s design in Chicago responds thoughtfully to the city’s harsh winter climate by incorporating a high-performance envelope system using ETFE panels. ETFE, a lightweight and highly insulating material, allows abundant natural light to enter while minimizing heat loss, creating bright and comfortable interior spaces even during the coldest months.

DYNAMICS

Center operates as a living system where diverse elements converge into a unified urban organism. Despite hosting multiple programs, the project works through a continuous logic of connectivity, circularity, and shared resources. Materiality, vegetation, spatial strategies, and public programs are not isolated components but interdependent forces that sustain a collective environment.

Across changing seasons, Center adapts channeling rain, modulating shade, responding to wind, and activating its public life from day to night. These shifts reveal the building’s dynamic character, where ecological cycles, human flows, and programmatic rhythms overlap to form a coherent whole.

Through this integrated system, Center nurtures community over individualism. It creates a place where urban life is supported from within, encouraging social interaction, shared stewardship, and a sense of belonging, demonstrating that a polycentric city thrives when its parts move together.

INFILTRATION

ACUICULTURE WETLAND

INFILTRATION

Water is a circulating force that threads the entire site together. It becomes both a mediator and a connector, shifting states as it nourishes landscapes, supports life, and recharges the ground. Each component whether architectural, infrastructural, or ecological it acts as a moment within a continuous cycle where water is cleansed, redirected, absorbed, and released again. The system forms an evolving loop, blurring boundaries between the artificial and the natural, revealing water not only as a resource but as an organizing logic for the entire environment.

The vegetation palette plays a crucial role in shaping the identity and performance of an architectural project, serving as both an ecological and experiential asset. Carefully selected plant species enhance microclimate regulation, improve air quality, and support local biodiversity, creating a healthier environment for users. Beyond environmental benefits, the palette also enriches the sensory experience of the space. Adding color, texture, and seasonal variation that deepen the connection between people and nature. By integrating vegetation strategically, the project becomes more resilient, sustainable, and emotionally engaging, strengthening the overall architectural vision.

The polycentric city does not concentrate, it connects

As members of this studio, we want to thank the entire teaching team for giving us this amazing experience and the opportunity to create a project that challenged our limits and reflects growth in our architectural performance. Designing within a context different from our own helped us expand our understanding of how cities and communities function, as well as the physical conditions of other environments. It also allowed us to design for the future of cities from this new standpoint and to be part of the shift toward creating the architecture of tomorrow.

-Getze & Luisen 2025

Thank you!