AXEL OLSON
The selected block is located at the 0,0 point of the South Loop neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois. The area is unique for its history as a railyard and industrial area that was gradually lifted and converted into mixed-use semi-suburban condo neighborhoods. The block is home to the CTA Roosevelt Station, connecting trains and buses to the city streets from above and below the ground.
An aerial view looking northeast conveys the density of the block, as well as the layering of naturally amaglamated buildings and spaces on the east side, as well as entirely planned megablock of manicured private spaces on the west.
An axonometric view of the South Loop block reveals layers of transportation intersecting at this urban focalpoint. At Roosevelt Station, Green and Orange CTA “L” routes run overhead, bus connections occur at street level, and underground Red Line trains can boarded on a vaulted platform that connects to the city’s pedway system. Roosevelt is also the closest CTA connection to Chicago’s lakefront Museum Campus and Soldier Field, bringing in an average annual ridership of 1,313,925 (2020). The buildings above are split by an alleyway and the rail lines above, but also by urban typology. To the east is a typical mixed block of buildings from various timeperiods that perform or have performed diverse purposes. To the west, a megablock project form the early 2000’s envelops the entire half, simulating the varied streetwall setback of its more “natural” eastern counterpart.
The selected block represents some typical aspects of a dense city block in Chicago’s Loop, but is unique in its excessive links to different modes of transit. Roosevelt station and the sidewalks around it have become the meeting point of Chicago’s downtwon financial district and its South Side, creating a diverse street life, however, the development, architecture, and aesthetics of the area have been heavily influenced by white suburbanism since the early 90’s. Typologies range from small cul-de-sac townhomes to the megablock projects such as the one found on this block.
A gif explores the transformation of the block as the surrounding streets turn the private space into a backdrop of public life. The megablock’s elevated-from-the-street, hardly-used private amenity spaces become overgrown forested areas, and the generic building masses themselves are enclosed with blank canvases for the outside world to rewrite with abstraction.