8600 Block of Commercial Avenue Mixed-Use Concept
Background
Based on recommendations in the Commercial Avenue plan, the South Chicago Chamber of Commerce and other organizations are interested in developing the 8600 block of Commercial Avenue into a mixed-use performance center that will establish a new brand identity for the Commercial Avenue corridor . The goals of this development are to provide increased awareness and visibility for the neighborhood and to maximize the number of visitors to the area.
Plan
The 2018 Spring School of Architecture studio developed an architectural language for 8600 Commercial Avenue that communicates South Chicago’s uniqueness to visitors while creating an identity that makes residents feel invested and involved in their community. The final deliverable of the studio were three design proposals and marketing packages for the 8600 Commercial Avenue Mixed-Use Performance Center and branding strategy for how the complex can develop a new identity for the neighborhood.
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The three proposals produced by the studio are to be used by the community to market and gain community support for the development of the 8600 Commercial Avenue block.
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Currently the project team is conducting outreach to develop a community stewardship and governance plan for the site. If you would like to participate in this project and/or provide your thoughts and feedback, please contact GCI or fill out the form.
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Partners
Intro
The School of Architecture at UIC promotes architecture as a cultural practice of organizing information, of intelligently identifying and deploying patterns—conceptual, visual, structural, behavioral, and material—in the world. The program prepares its graduates to project all scales of these spatial and organizational patterns through the systematic development of an aesthetic attitude, a technical confidence, and a theoretical opportunism.