Envisioning New Spaces

Ranger Ve'Amber and students from Edgar Allan Poe Classical School pose next to the Pullman Fire Station

NPS Photo

Pullman students take home top prizes and discover exciting potential in Chicago’s vacant lots

When is the last time you passed a vacant lot in Chicago? And did you imagine it could become a garden, a grocery store, or a library? Students from Edgar Allan Poe Classical School and Gwendolyn Brooks College Preparatory Academy put their minds to imagining the potential of what one of the approximately 13,000 vacant lots in Chicago could become for their communities. They submitted their ideas to the Chicago Architecture Biennial Student Ideas Competition and learned about urban planning, architecture, and addressing community needs.

Floorplan of the designed space by Gwendolyn Brooks College Preparatory Academy students, Project 404.

Digital Imaging II Course Students

The project started with rangers at Pullman National Historical Park reaching out to both schools to gauge interest in students participating in the competition. To forge connections with the competition and Pullman, rangers spoke with students about how urban planning and design were integral parts of forming the Pullman neighborhood.

In 1879, when George M. Pullman purchased a plot of land south of Chicago, he set the stage for a town that provided both a place to live and work. Construction on the Pullman company’s car shops and the housing for the workers that would labor at those industrial grounds were constructed simultaneously. The students learned about many of the positives that went with living in the town, including the amenities enjoyed by 19th century residents of Pullman such as places to eat, shop, and find entertainment, all within walking distance of one another. Then, students discussed disadvantages of living in the town of Pullman, and explored improvements that could have been made to better served the community.

Through a virtual awards ceremony on January 19th, the students heard the results for the competition after the committee reviewed projects from 133 students, 28 schools and after school programs, and over 30 Chicagoland zip codes. Jadon Carter from Poe Classical placed 1st in his category with his project Pullman Technology Center. The Digital Imaging II course students from Brooks College Prep placed 2nd in their category with Project 404. Amira Moultrie from Poe Classical placed 3rd in her category with her project Art Park. Payton Brown, Madison Mason, Makiah Parnell, Laniyah Epps, Ariel Eldridge, and Anthony Pinson received an Honorable Mention for their submission Safe Space. Students from both classes expressed hope that their ideas will give inspiration for similar things to come to fruition in their neighborhoods.

Overhead view of the proposed space, Project 404.

Digital Imaging II Course Students

Next, students were asked to look at the Pullman neighborhood of today and think about how recent vacant lots have been transformed to address community needs. Students looked at examples of community gardens and recently built housing to seek inspiration. Then, they used The Chicago Architecture Biennial Student Ideas Competition as their guide and goal for transforming the vacant lot adjacent to the historic Pullman Firehouse in the neighborhood.

At Gwendolyn Brooks, the Digital Imaging II course and their teacher, Jacob Mitchell, decided to band together and imagine the lot as a space for a Teen Youth Center that would benefit the teens in the Pullman/Roseland community called Project 404. In their imagined space, students advocated for a library, café, lounge for live performance, and gaming space. “A lot of teens in this community don’t have resources or access to activities they are curious about,” they expressed in their written project statement. “If we give area teens access to these opportunities, it would benefit the teens, their parents, and their teachers because it will build upon any existing academic supports and give students purpose, opportunity, and community.”

Illustration of Project 404

Digital Imagine II Course Students

Poe Classical 8th and 8th graders choose to divide into two groups and four individual projects. The different proposals ranged from a Japanese Cultural Center to a space for music and artistic performances. 1st Place winner Jadon Carter’s project, Pullman Technology Center, aims to “give people who do not have access to computers or the internet a safe environment to learn and get whatever they need to do, done”. Andrea Little and Mr. Adam Hathaway coached their students to exercise their imaginations and think of spaces that could benefit their communities.

You can find information about the 2022 Chicago Architecture Biennial Student Competition and the student projects on the Chicago Architect Biennial website.