The site, approximately 45, 000 sf (including the riverwalk), is located in the Streeterville neighborhood of Chicago. The main branch of the Chicago River has been undergoing significant renovations to increase public use and accessibility. Through understanding history and massing to mobility and current uses of the site, this project was to design a cultural center with mixed program.

Nest is a place where people experience cultural and interactive activities. Main goal is to congregate people together in this hub of the city and bring cultural life to different group of people such as officers, residents, and tourists. Also, I was interested in the flow between the interior and exterior spaces since I noticed that museums in the city limit the activities in the interiors.

As a framework, I designed two different quality of space. Firstly, stripes of field offer flexible spaces where there aren’t defined programs, but various activities can happen. I still offer different types of texture on the stripes like grass for softness, hard surface, and the river comes into the site as a reflection pool, so it enhances the opportunity of diverse activities. In contrast, ovals are for specific programs. The ovals also directly and indirectly affect the quality of the space. Overall, this project is offering intimate physical environment where further cultural and social activities can happen as it increases both direct and indirect encounters of people.