Upside Down is a community / art center on the north bank of the Chicago river. It aims to activate and engage the neighborhood and the general public through meaningful and value added collage of programs, creating unexpected moments, and curating interesting experiences for the users. It also aims to bridge the physical and perceptual distance between the two levels of the city. The project celebrates the history and tradition of the Chicago River as a constantly evolving body of water that reimagines itself to suit the needs of the city - from supporting the industrial establishments in the past to its current role in creating better urban public spaces for the people and speculates on the next iteration of this evolution to create and support sustainable ecosystems.
The idea behind this project was to try and articulate the idea of a new architecture that breaks through the conventional boundaries of the profession i.e buildings and spills out into the streets of the city, where it engages with the users and slowly imbeds into the city fabric.
