Around the tracks symbolizes that, throughout human history, the city has been a meeting place for people. Much of human culture has developed in public spaces. Public space is a fundamental aspect of the proper functioning of a city
Participatory Architecture of Medium Complexity
Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey
Campus Queretaro
School of Architecture, Art and Design
August - December 2025
Location
Fulton River District, Chicago, IL
Work by María José Alvarado Yáñez
María José Montoya Medina
Professors
M.Arch. Psj. Rodrigo Pantoja Calderón
MSc. Urb. Diana García Cejudo
Arch. Pedro Mendoza Hernández
Arch. Yetzi Verónica Tafoya Torres
Ph.D. Andrea María Parga Vazquez
Ph.D. Viviana Margarita Barquero Díaz Barriga
Arch. Daniela Cruz Naranjo
Arch. Santiago Luján Córdova
Arch. Carlos González
Arch. Udo Paul Muchow
Alliances
IIT - Illinois Institute of Technology
Adj. Prof. Rogelio Cadena
Adv. MCHAP Dir. Prof. Justin DeGroff
Adv. Dirk Deninson
Health and Wellbeing
The site
SIte breakdown
A urban pulse project
Creative process
Case studies
Under the tracks project
Pathway through the experience
Future visions
HEALTH AND WELLBEING
HEALTH AND WELLBEING
In the Built Environment
The concept of health and wellbeing in the built environment is essential for achieving a people-centered and sustainable design. According to Arch4Change (n.d.), healthy spaces go beyond merely preventing disease; they integrate social, psychological, and emotional dimensions that deeply influence how we live and how well we do so. In a global context marked by strained healthcare systems and demographic changes, a holistic and interdisciplinary approach is required to actively promote wellbeing. This vision aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 3: Good Health and Wellbeing, reinforcing the need for architecture and urbanism to foster a better quality of life for all people.
GLOBAL CONTEXT
The Transforming Graffiti Island studio, as outlined by Arch4Change (n.d.), explores how health, culture, and connection can be embedded into urban regeneration processes. The proposal envisions reimagining the district’s northern half through adaptive reuse, converting vacant industrial buildings into housing, retail, and public spaces that prioritize sustainability, equity, and wellbeing. This approach seeks to reconnect residents to the site’s natural and cultural assets while overcoming the physical and social barriers that currently fragment the area. The project stands as an opportunity to rethink urban resilience—integrating wellbeing into design as a driver for inclusive and sustainable transformation.
TRANSFORMING GRAFFITI ISLAND
Chicago, IL
THE SITE
Located within Chicago’s Fulton River District, the site known as “Graffiti Island” sits at the intersection of major urban infrastructures such as the I-90 Expressway, the Ohio Street ramp, and the Chicago River. Once a thriving industrial hub for commerce and meatpacking, the area declined significantly after deindustrialization, leaving behind abandoned warehouses and fragmented urban land. Despite its current neglected state, the site remains a vibrant cultural landmark, known for its colorful street art and strategic position connecting several urban districts. Its proximity to major redevelopment zones, such as the Fulton Market Corridor, highlights its potential for transformation into a more sustainable, inclusive, and community-oriented environment.
OUR SITE PHOTO STUDY
W Hubbard St
N Desplaines St
W Hubbard St
W Grand Ave
N Union
W Ohio St
W Grand Ave
NOT VISIBLE
GRAFFITI ABANDONED UNUSED
UNDER BRIDGE TRAFFICKED CAR CULTURE
GRAFFITI
SITE BREAKDOWN
The site is examined through an integrated framework that considers demographics, walkability, mobility networks, public facilities, transportation systems, and patterns of land use. Understanding these layers together allows for a clearer picture of how the area currently operates and where critical gaps exist. This synthesis not only identifies opportunities and constraints but also establishes the basis for interventions that can directly contribute to health and well-being. By situating the property within its wider urban context, the analysis highlights how spatial, social, and environmental factors intersect, guiding proposals that aim to create more resilient and supportive conditions for everyday life.
BUILT GREEN AND WATER BODIES
BUILDING USAGE
Commercial, industrial and retail
Mixed residential
Construction, roof and foundation
School, office and garage
RECLAIMING THE PEDESTRIAN JOURNEY
After analyzing the site through both photographs and direct observation, it became evident that there is a limited pedestrian culture in the area. In Chicago, mobility is strongly oriented toward car use, which results in an urban environment where the pedestrian experience is secondary. This prioritization forces pedestrians to take indirect or inconvenient routes, often pushing them to navigate around infrastructural barriers or cross in ways that do not follow a natural or intuitive flow. As a result, the space becomes fragmented and discourages walkability, revealing a broader issue of neglect toward pedestrian needs within the urban fabric.
CITIES FOR PEOPLE
A URBAN PULSE
MAIN STRATEGIES
HEALTHFOREVERYONE ANDEVERYWHERE
PREVENTION IS THEKEY
BACKTO THE HUMANBEING
OUR STRATEGIES
“Walking City” and “Back to the Human Being”
Come from a collective manifesto developed after analyzing the national, city, and site scales. “Back to the Human Being” focuses on placing people at the center of design decisions, creating spaces that respond to their natural movement, comfort, and safety. “Walkability” highlights the importance of pedestrian-friendly streets, improving continuity, accessibility, and the overall quality of the walking experience. Together, these strategies aim to enhance users’ health and well-being by transforming mobility infrastructures into human-centered spaces.
SUSTAINABLE INDUSTRY
THERIGHT OF HOUSING
BIOPHIL C MANIA WALKING CITY
CREATIVE PROCESS
CASE STUDIES
THE UNDERLINE
Location: Miami, Florida, USA.
Author: James Corner Field Operations (JCFO)
Year: 2015.
This project transforms the space beneath Miami’s elevated Metrorail into a 16-kilometer linear park featuring pedestrian and bicycle paths, sports areas, and green zones that connect multiple neighborhoods. Its materiality combines permeable pavements, native vegetation, steel, concrete, and LED lighting, all adapted to the tropical climate. The structure relies on the existing rail infrastructure, which acts as a continuous canopy, while the areas below are organized into themed “rooms.” Its spatial logic is based on a continuous linear sequence with separate flows for pedestrians and cyclists and direct connections to public transit. In context, it responds to the lack of public spaces in a car-oriented city, promoting sustainable mobility, social cohesion, and urban resilience.
CAMPUS AND CREATIVE INNOVATION KNOWLEDGE PARK
Location: Budapest, Hungary.
Author: 3h architecture.
Year: 2019.
The university campus expansion includes classrooms, workshops, and laboratories designed to foster creativity and collaboration. Its materiality consists of exposed concrete, steel, and glass, creating a sober yet transparent and flexible environment. The structure employs post-tensioned slabs supported by concrete cores, freeing the ground floor and allowing visual continuity with the surrounding landscape. The spatial logic is organized around three aligned volumes connected by a central open area that unites interior and exterior spaces. In context, the project reinterprets modernist values of functionality and community, integrating architecture and landscape to form a contemporary, open, and inspiring educational setting.
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF FINLAND
Location: Helsinki, Finland.
Author: Superspatial.
Year: 2019.
The museum extension is conceived as a series of voids excavated into the terrain, blending architecture and landscape. Exposed concrete serves as the main material, providing continuity and a restrained character. Its structure of concrete walls and slabs shapes courtyards illuminated from above, functioning as exhibition and transition spaces. The spatial logic revolves around these courtyards, expanding the museum’s original layout into the surrounding natural environment. In context, the proposal avoids monumentality and emphasizes integration with the landscape, reflecting Finland’s architectural tradition of harmony between nature, architecture, and cultural memory.
UNDER THE TRACKS
WHAT IS UNDER THE TRACKS?
Our project arises from the need to revitalize and reconnect areas within Graffiti Island that today feel abandoned, isolated, and disconnected from the surrounding urban fabric. We identified a series of streets with potential for urban improvement— spaces that, despite their current neglect, have the capacity to become active connectors between the different redevelopment projects emerging around the site. The concept is inspired by the principles of the Health & Wellness Manifesto, especially “Walking City” and “Back to the Human Being.” We seek to recover the human scale of the city and promote movement, interaction, and reflection through public space. The proposal integrates culture as a fundamental tool to strengthen identity, belonging, and collective wellbeing. Through artistic and spatial interventions, the project aims to transform everyday routes into experiential and cultural corridors that invite people to walk, gather, and reconnect with their environment.
MASTER PLAN
STRATEGIES
MOBILITY STRATEGIES
Focus on placing the pedestrian at the heart of the urban environment. To achieve this, we propose widening sidewalks, adding proper lighting, incorporating functional urban furniture, and integrating art into public spaces. Each street will feature panels for both showcasing and creating art, reinforcing the district’s identity and promoting walkability and the ‘Back to the Human Being’ philosophy. In this way, we transform streets into more human, safe, and welcoming spaces for everyone.
IN THE GALLERY
THE END AND THE BEGINNING
Our urban art corridor transforms the pedestrian journey into an aesthetic and pleasant experience. Featuring wide streets designed with universal accessibility in mind, we ensure comfort for all types of users. This design not only facilitates mobility but also fosters culture, art appreciation, and mental well-being by providing new spaces for social interaction.
THOSE WHO USE
To create, exhibit, and sell their work
To move through the area quickly and occasionally see art
To walk, play, and join simple cultural activities
THE UNDERGROUND GALLERY
The second gallery is characterized by its linear form; it acts as a connecting corridor that maintains the flow of the journey, creating an immersive experience. This intervention includes sidewalk widening and the integration of vegetation. Across the street, we have established rest and social areas centered around the “Main Stage,” a small hub dedicated to artistic expression.
To manage, program, and help maintain the spaces and events
To use it as their everyday public space to meet, relax, and access culture near home
To find a quiet place to walk, read, or rest around art
SECTION A SECTION B
LANDSCAPE PALETTE
Height: 0.6–1 m
Pycnanthemum muticum
Endemic
Origin: Meadows
Maintenance: Low
Water use: Moderate
Irrigation: Occasional watering
Echinacea purpurea Height: 0.9–1.5 m
Endemic: Yes
Origin: Prairies and open woods
Maintenance: Low Water use: Low to moderate
Irrigation: Light weekly watering.
Endemic: No
Origin: Salt marshes
Maintenance: Very low
Water use: Low
Irrigation: Minimal Height: 0.3–0.6 m
Origin: Dry prairies Maintenance: Low
Minimal;
Endemic: No
Origin: Moist meadows
Maintenance: Low to moderate
Water use: Moderate
Irrigation: Regular Height: 1.2–2.4 m
0.9–1.5 m
Yes Origin: Wet prairies Maintenance: Low
use: Moderate
Irrigation: Regular light
Height: 0.3–0.6 m
Endemic: Yes,
Origin: Moist meadows
Maintenance: Low
Water use: Moderate
Irrigation: Frequent light
Height: 0.9–1.5 m
Endemic: Yes
Origin: Prairies and open woods
Maintenance: Low
Water use: Low to moderate
Irrigation: Light weekly watering.
CONSTRUCTION DETAILS
Allium
Height: 0.3–0.6 m
Endemic: Yes
Origin: Moist meadows
Maintenance: Low
Water use: Moderate
Irrigation: Frequent light watering
Serviceberry
Height: 4–7 m
Endemic: Native to North America
Origin: Forest edges
Maintenance: Low
Water use: Moderate
Irrigation: Regular watering
Height: 12–18 m
Endemic: No
Origin: Eastern and central United States
Maintenance level: Low
Water needs: Moderate
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
This structural section shows the underground gallery’s foundation, designed as a raft slab From this base, retaining walls rise to support the 3-meter excavation depth. An interior gallery wall is constructed parallel to the retaining structure, separated by an air gap for moisture control.
Stokesia laevis
Common Serviceberry
URBAN FURNITURE COLLECTION
Bench with seats for 1-2 people with integrated vegetation Regular rectangular bench with vegetation Community bench with vegetation Zig-Green Bench R1_Bench MEETING Bench Grid Planter R_1 Planter R_1 Table
Grid with planters and seats of varying heights Simple tables for 2-4 people.
BLUE AND GREEN STRATEGIES
Continuous planted buffer that runs alongside the bike lane.This buffer works as a vegetated strip designed to capture rainwater, allow it to infiltrate into the soil, and retain moisture. The water collected through this system is then used to irrigate the trees within the park and to support the vegetation inside the buffer itself.
The second strategy is integrated into the project’s urban furniture. Each piece of furniture incorporates vegetation and is designed to collect rainwater. This allows every unit to function as a small self-sustaining green element capable of storing water and maintaining the
Celtis occidentalis
Common Name(s): American Hackberry, �ea�erwood� �o��on �ac�berry� False �l���
Plant Type:
• Edible
• Native Plant
• Perennial
• Shrub
• Tree
Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
• �eciduous�
Growth Rate:
• Rapid Maintenance:
• Medium Texture:
• �oarse�
Flowers are insignificant and followed by red to purple drupes attractive to wildlife.
STREET LIFE
At street level, the comprehensive program features a perimeter bike lane surrounding the block, accompanied by an ecological buffer designed for rainwater harvesting. In keeping with the project’s artistic spirit, traditional street furniture is complemented by recreation and viewing stations, consisting of interactive art panels.
