The Legacy District
The Legacy District is a mixed-use development which expresses cultural vitality, fosters pride and creates a sense of place through a characteristic identity and quality open spaces. The form of the building is generated like a folded ribbon, derived from the scale of the historic low rise commercial buildings around the site. While winding up to include scales and proportions of larger neighboring buildings, a sculptural façade toward a newly generated urban open space is formed. Within the form of the building local art will be serve a valuable and integrative component of the design of the building.
Perceived as Bronzeville’s food, art & culture corridor, the neighborhood offers a historically active and vibrant art and music scene, which is complimented by the integration of the proposed corner plaza offering spill-out space for the food market and the adjacent colonnade along 47th Street to activate the street and diversify spatial qualities within the corridor. The envisioned two-story flexible and adaptable culinary and entrepreneurial space is programmatically and spatially adaptable to neighborhood needs and changing businesses over time. It will serve as a catalyst for business development in conjunction with the YWCA, the support of food training and entrepreneurship, and opportunities for community events of different kinds, from celebrations, music events, art exhibitions, cooking competitions, to symposia and lectures.
The proposal is designed to be family oriented, with two-thirds of the units being large 3-bedroom units and about one third being 2-bedroom units. Healthy living is promoted by integrating balconies for all units and every bedroom and living room. Many units include additional gardens and terraces. The 4,700 square-foot rooftop farm not only provides residents with proximal access to nature and a space for gardening, but it also opens opportunities for educational programming. Additionally, the rooftop farm is envisioned as a vital resource for food entrepreneurs in the building.
Building Type: Mixed Use
Location: Chicago, Illinois, USA
Development Team: KMW Communities (Chicago), Bronzeville Partners (Chicago), LG Development Group (Chicago), MB TEAM (Chicago)
Service: Architectural Design
GSF: 75,000 sqft
INVEST South/ West Chicago RFP: 1st Prize, August 2021
Design Team: Lars Gräbner, Christina Hansen, José Arturo Joglar-Cadilla, Annabelle Guan, Jesica Yu, Ryan Cohn
Local Design Partners: Civic Projects Architecture(Community Engagement), Landon Bone Baker (AOR) , Omni Workshop (Landscape), Seek Design (Interiors)
Links:
The Legacy District Video Presentation
Chicago Sun-Times
Urbanize Chicago
Chicago Tribune
Block Club Chicago
Taubman College