I am a high school junior at Global Citizenship Experience Lab School, and I am currently in my last class of the year, which is called Urban Planning. In this unit, we have been learning about urban planning in different cities, neighborhoods, and timelines. We were able to visit Whitney Architects, where professional architects gave us a tour of their space and talked to us about their work. The action project for this unit was to find a space that needs improving and redesign it so that it is better for the area and the community. We also had multiple urban planners come into the classroom to help us. Some helped us build our models, and another urban planner named Chandra joined us and spoke to us about her experiences and gave us insight and feedback on our projects.
I will be redesigning the space where the Mars Chocolate Factory currently sits. The Factory is located in Chicago’s westside, within a residential neighborhood called Galewood. The front of the Mars factory (red) is the most important part of this space because it is historical, the factory first opened it's doors here in 1928. Galewood neighbors all agree that this is an important part to preserve. Now the actual factory itself (orange) has been lovely because of the sweet smell of chocolate that our neighborhood gets, but it is time for the factory to go, we can take advantage of this space for more practical things like community centers and restaurants. The parking lot for the factory (blue) is good because that is where the factory workers park their cars, although it is only open to factory workers. The space behind the factory (green) is only for trucks and storage, which isn’t nice to look at, and it can be turned into something much more useful once the factory is no longer in use.
.png) |
| Mars Factory Space, NM, 2023 |
I will be redesigning the space where the Mars Chocolate Factory currently sits. The Factory is located in Chicago’s westside, within a residential neighborhood called Galewood. The front of the Mars factory (red) is the most important part of this space because it is historical, the factory first opened it's doors here in 1928. Galewood neighbors all agree that this is an important part to preserve. Now the actual factory itself (orange) has been lovely because of the sweet smell of chocolate that our neighborhood gets, but it is time for the factory to go, we can take advantage of this space for more practical things like community centers and restaurants. The parking lot for the factory (blue) is good because that is where the factory workers park their cars, although it is only open to factory workers. The space behind the factory (green) is only for trucks and storage, which isn’t nice to look at, and it can be turned into something much more useful once the factory is no longer in use.
Since the Galewood neighborhood is practically the suburbs (being just barely outside of Oak Park), it is a quiet neighborhood with not much to do. It is definitely in need of more spaces for community interaction and commercial areas. I've talked to a resident who is a part of “Galewood Neighbors”, a group of Galewood's residents that discuss what they want for the space, what they like about it, and what they dislike. He’s attended all of their meetings and has been very involved in providing ideas and opinions about the space. I was able to get access to the survey results of what the residents want in this specific space!
As we can see through the surveys, Galewood Neighbors have expressed the most interest in Parks, Community Centers, and Youth Programs for this area. This is what I needed to take into consideration the most. This is how I decided to redesign the space in order to organize and add what the neighborhood needs:
There are the things I have added to the space:
1) Community & Education Center (C&E)
One of the top priorities of Galewood Neighbors was to create community and education centers in their neighborhood. That is why I think we can preserve part of the factory building itself, but turn it into something more useful and community building for the residents, by creating a community and education center.
2) Community & Education Plaza
Galewood Residents want to embrace nature and open spaces, which is why I chose to make the community and education center building on the smaller side; In order to create a more nature filled openspace plaza, that could possibly have a community garden and ampitheater. This Plaza could be used for community gathering, outdoor classroom space, music events, ect.
3) Commercial (Stores, Restaurants, ect)
Since Galwood is lacking in commercial space, I know that it would be very beneficial to add a commercial space. This would create more reason for residents to engage with the space and interact with one another. It would also reduce the use and need for cars, lessening the amount of
people living a sedentary lifestyle.
4) Housing (Town Home Residential, Senior Housing)
Galewood is a neighborhood lined up with hundreds of the same single family homes. There are not many housing options like senior housing, which was something Garwood Residents really wanted. Housing-Lodging could also be useful for the Shriners hospital which is a few blocks up north.
5) Nature Greenspace (Wildlife Habitat, Community Garden)
Galewood Neighbors' most wanted pick was Nature Greenspace. There are nearby parks and a kids playground, which is why this could be a great space for something like a community garden or a wildlife habitat.
6) Museum (Mars Factory Museum/Candy Store)
Galewood Neighbors have also expressed their love for the front of the Chocolate Factory, and the resident I spoke with agrees that it is a very beautiful structure and should be preserved. Galewood Neighbors have also expressed their love for the historical significance of the factory, and have also expressed interest in having a Mars Chocolate Factory Museum.
7) Road (with protected bike lane and pedestrian trails)
Since Garwood is a neighborhood along the suburbs, residents aren't used to there being community centers, plazas, or restaurants. But with these added spaces, we would need to also add roads as well as protected bike lanes, and pedestrian trails throughout.
This is a picture of the actual Mars Chocolate Factory. Since I want to preserve the center part of this building and keep the history of this factory through the Mars Factory Museum, I want to keep a similar style throughout the redesigned space. This style of building, especially considering its red tile roofs, reminds me of the style of buildings in Mexico. I especially want to continue this trend with the Mars Factory Museum. This rustic old style creates a more comfortable and relaxing feeling which I want for Galewood residents and community members to enjoy. The urban planning redesign I created for this space is also heavily inspired by urban planning in Chicago because I have seen many areas like this, where areas are connected together. There are many Museums in Chicago, which also inspired me to add the museum.
These are my calculations! Here I calculated the area of the real-life space as well as the model, and I calculated the volume of two shapes within the space. This included the housing building (real life and model), and a spherical sculpture (real life and model).
This was a challenging project, but I did enjoy researching and redesigning the space. I especially enjoyed building the model, even though there were many challenges with it. Cutting cardboard to create 3D shapes can be pretty difficult! But overall I am proud of all my hard work. I was able to build a model I was happy with and complete the redesign and the calculations. I am especially proud of how my 3D model came out, I think it turned out really cute. Thank you for visiting my portfolio!
 |
| Survey 1-10, Galewood Neighbors, 2023 |
 |
| Survey 11-18, Galewood Neighbors, 2023 |
As we can see through the surveys, Galewood Neighbors have expressed the most interest in Parks, Community Centers, and Youth Programs for this area. This is what I needed to take into consideration the most. This is how I decided to redesign the space in order to organize and add what the neighborhood needs:
 |
| My Redesign, NM, 2023 |
There are the things I have added to the space:
1) Community & Education Center (C&E)
One of the top priorities of Galewood Neighbors was to create community and education centers in their neighborhood. That is why I think we can preserve part of the factory building itself, but turn it into something more useful and community building for the residents, by creating a community and education center.
2) Community & Education Plaza
Galewood Residents want to embrace nature and open spaces, which is why I chose to make the community and education center building on the smaller side; In order to create a more nature filled openspace plaza, that could possibly have a community garden and ampitheater. This Plaza could be used for community gathering, outdoor classroom space, music events, ect.
3) Commercial (Stores, Restaurants, ect)
Since Galwood is lacking in commercial space, I know that it would be very beneficial to add a commercial space. This would create more reason for residents to engage with the space and interact with one another. It would also reduce the use and need for cars, lessening the amount of
people living a sedentary lifestyle.
4) Housing (Town Home Residential, Senior Housing)
Galewood is a neighborhood lined up with hundreds of the same single family homes. There are not many housing options like senior housing, which was something Garwood Residents really wanted. Housing-Lodging could also be useful for the Shriners hospital which is a few blocks up north.
5) Nature Greenspace (Wildlife Habitat, Community Garden)
Galewood Neighbors' most wanted pick was Nature Greenspace. There are nearby parks and a kids playground, which is why this could be a great space for something like a community garden or a wildlife habitat.
6) Museum (Mars Factory Museum/Candy Store)
Galewood Neighbors have also expressed their love for the front of the Chocolate Factory, and the resident I spoke with agrees that it is a very beautiful structure and should be preserved. Galewood Neighbors have also expressed their love for the historical significance of the factory, and have also expressed interest in having a Mars Chocolate Factory Museum.
7) Road (with protected bike lane and pedestrian trails)
Since Garwood is a neighborhood along the suburbs, residents aren't used to there being community centers, plazas, or restaurants. But with these added spaces, we would need to also add roads as well as protected bike lanes, and pedestrian trails throughout.
 |
| My 3D Model, NM, 2023 |
 |
| Top view 3D Model, NM, 2023 |
Every good architect and urban planner needs a model. So I got to work and built my very own 3D model of the space I redesigned. This way, people can better visualize the space, and get a better idea of exactly what I imagine the new and improved space to look like. I want this space to not only look nice but most importantly create a comfortable and relaxing space to build community. My design connects to Sustainable Development Goal 11, which is to "Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable". My design connects to target 11.1, which is to "By 2030, ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services and upgrade slums". this is because my redesign attempts to create a safe housing and community area. My design also connects to target 11.4, which is to "Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage". The Mars Chocolate Factory has been in Galewood since 1928. It holds significant historical value for the surrounding neighborhood and community. Redesigning it into a space with a Mars Chocolate Factory Museum will preserve the historical heritage and be brought to life by the thriving community.
.webp) |
| Mars Chocolate Factory, NM, 2023 |
This is a picture of the actual Mars Chocolate Factory. Since I want to preserve the center part of this building and keep the history of this factory through the Mars Factory Museum, I want to keep a similar style throughout the redesigned space. This style of building, especially considering its red tile roofs, reminds me of the style of buildings in Mexico. I especially want to continue this trend with the Mars Factory Museum. This rustic old style creates a more comfortable and relaxing feeling which I want for Galewood residents and community members to enjoy. The urban planning redesign I created for this space is also heavily inspired by urban planning in Chicago because I have seen many areas like this, where areas are connected together. There are many Museums in Chicago, which also inspired me to add the museum.
 |
| "Volumes of shapes", NM, 2023 |
 |
| "Area of space", NM, 2023 |
These are my calculations! Here I calculated the area of the real-life space as well as the model, and I calculated the volume of two shapes within the space. This included the housing building (real life and model), and a spherical sculpture (real life and model).
Comments
Post a Comment