Imagine yourself at eighteen, looking out over the horizon of your life. You are not sure what it will hold, both an exciting and terrifying prospect. Now imagine dedicating years to the service of your country and its citizens in the military. You see the best and worst of humanity all at once - unaccountable comradery, an unparalleled sense of family and togetherness, selfless sacrifice for the sake of others, and brutal killing, savage disregard for innocent life, betrayal and power-hungry tactics. In the moment it was survival, and there was a sense of purpose and togetherness about it. Afterwards, there are just the memories. Maybe, the people around you can’t quite relate to your experiences. Maybe they weren’t quite prepared for you to come back different, and maybe you don’t look so different on the outside. Or maybe you do. Maybe you lost a limb, and not only lost your place in the military, but lost your dreams of the future as well. Maybe you can sleep at night because the things you saw keep creeping into your dreams and attacking you defenseless. Maybe being strong and sure and impervious to pain were what helped you survive then, and you can’t figure out why it is not helping you now. So maybe you start drinking, maybe you stop opening up to the people you love, maybe you burst out unexpectedly with flashes of anger, maybe you can keep

yourself going to the same old job, maybe you stop trusting yourself because your mind keeps betraying you, maybe your support system is gone or has given up after too many years. Maybe you find yourself homeless and wondering, “How did that hopeful eighteen-year-old end up here?” Can a building solve these problems? No...and yes. It can restore some of the things that were lost—shelter, safety, support, inclusion, empathy, and provide an incubator for the deeper needs of community and family and home to grow. In the heart of downtown Mobile, Alabama (a city beleaguered by its own set of problems -hurricanes, flooding, heat), is a new 75,548 square foot complex - a garden in a maze of brick and asphalt. A place, not just for shelter, but for gathering, for healing and for regrowth. It imagines a haven of environmental stability in climate Zone 8b, where materials are carefully selected and used, water is collect-ed and conserved for maximum benefit, the sun is harnessed for light and energy, and vegetation creates a green veil of renewable agriculture and urban cooling. It further imagines a place where unsheltered people can receive welcome and find resources and stability through their journey out of homelessness - with all the physical and mental healing that requires.

The city of Tulsa, Oklahoma requires transitional housing that addresses the high women’s prison populations, an inflated homeless-ness rate among female ex-offenders, and unique environmental conditions that are subject to significant climatic change. In Oklahoma, 142 out of 100,000 women are imprisoned. This number is higher than any other state in the U.S. and affects a population of women who have experienced abuse, trauma, loss, and addiction. Explicitly designed to benefit female ex-offenders, Interlink prevents its residents from entering the prison-homelessness cycle. By providing a space that encourages social interaction while also supplying a personal private retreat, the residents regain the confidence and independence they need to transition back into society. Interlink features a tower that interlocks 50 individual precast concrete units. The idea is to give each resident a personal space to escape while also providing ample opportunities to interact in their new environment. The tower base is an open-air atrium that houses programs such as GED courses, job training, childcare, and outdoor spaces for public gatherings. The building provides 120,000 sf of indoor space in a 24,000 sf building footprint. Rising 30 stories at its highest point, Interlink introduces 60,000 sf of green roof space that helps mitigate heat island effect, insulate, reduce energy consumption, increase humidity, collect water, purify air, and improve overall well-being. Using information from ASHRAE Standard 55 for Climate Zone 3 Subtype A, the entire building is shaped for cross-ventilation. The individual units, inspired by Le

Corbusier’s Modular proportions and other social housing precedents, are designed with single-height and double-height spaces in an oblong form to promote convection air-flow. By placing operable windows at opposite ends of the unit and installing sliding doors that connect every room, ventilation is con-trolled by the resident. With the envelope shape determined, units are then interlocked and varied in two different sizes to create small perforations in the tower. Units are removed randomly from the stack to make more voids designated for outdoor green spaces that take advantage of the prevailing winds. Circulation cores are then added to connect the stacked units and the whole building gets oriented to solar paths and city views. The entire project is built around the idea of creating an urban oasis. Green roofs became the main source of clean water and fresh air in a close-looped building cycle. Water is collected, filtered, stored, and recycled. Cross-ventilation circulates the clean air produced by the new landscaping. Solar power is harvested and stored by photovoltaic glass which powers the water pumps needed to cycle water through the building. This system becomes vital in times of drought that are common in Tulsa. Stored water can sustain the plants during these dry periods and help increase humidity when water is sparse. This also helps to reduce the heat island effect produced by large areas of asphalt in the city. Overall, the project fosters community engagement, user group healing, and a healthy environment that the entire city of Tulsa can benefit from.

LIFE CYCLE

SYDNEY PARKER | JESSICA LONGHURST

In recent years, Tulsa, Oklahoma has become a hub for a rapidly growing homeless population. A clear portion of these homeless individuals have recently been released from prison on the outskirts of the downtown perimeter. These ex-offenders lack job opportunities,-family connections, and basic necessities such as food and shelter to get them back on their feet. To help these individuals, specifically female ex-offenders, [Life]Cycle proposes a 14-story 200,000 square foot vertical neighborhood of self growth and programming that helps these women prepare to re-enter the workforce and their old social lives while addressing the urban heat island effect in Tulsa’s dense downtown area. Before defining the site, a connection between a surrounding corporate park and a tourist attraction was made. Due to its lack of green space, connecting the few moments of green spaces in downtown Tulsa with a pedestrian-only street was a necessary intervention. Benefits of the pedestrian access include: the community developing a “sense of place”, universal accessibility, a boost in local economy, and a decrease in ambient noises. The programming of [Life]Cycle tackles the challenge of helping ex-of-fenders successfully rehabilitate and re-enter the workforce. Starting with a pre-release application prior to leaving prison, these women go through the process of reintegrating into society with counseling, job training, and other helpful life skills. Self-sufficiency is promoted through community gardens and

selling local produce at the market hall. Healing and help with substance abuse is addressed programmatically through the counseling center and meditation gardens.[Life]Cycle also creates important moments of discovery and innovation for the city of Tulsa. Initially lacking vital green space, an urban oasis in the middle of the tower known as the “Urban Forest” was designed to act as a filter combatting the heat island effect. Solar panel roofs, wind turbines and passive systems such as radiant floor heating and operable windows and louver systems reduce energy costs and help educate citizens on effective and sustainable practices. Designed as a vertical neighborhood, [Life]Cycle is made up of many interlocking and interconnected moments of green space that occur sporadically throughout the building. Community gardens, yoga lawns, and playgrounds scatter the site and invite both the community and residents to connect. 100,818 square feet of green space was added back to the site. In accordance with the City planning of Tulsa, [Life]Cycle introduces flora and fauna onto the site to revive the congested city. Some species of trees will restore habitats and provide berries and sustenance to birds and local squirrels. [Life]Cycle’s design addresses and integrates all ten COTE measures while ensuring to maintain the integrity of its original design intention of providing the hope of housing for Tulsa’s overlooked female ex-of-fenders.

Located in East Portland, Oregon, the Eastbank Meadows features a market supported by local suppliers, a residential tower, and a large green-space. The current 4.3 acres of asphalt will be removed and recycled to allow for the community gardens and green-space. With the goal of building up rather than out, the 14 story residential building contains 24, double-height units to allow for maximum light in Portland’s unique climate. The facade features a variety of vegetation to aid in interior temperature control. This alive and seasonal facade paints the residential building bright red and yellow in the fall and has purple blossoms in the spring, which helps connect the residents and the community back to nature’s colorful cycle. The wet climate allows for the vegetation to thrive, and when the leaves fall in winter, they can be used for fertilizer in the gardens. The market embraces Interstate-5’s structure and brings life into the space. It will be a one-stop-shop for residents and the local com-munity for meals, groceries, and household needs as well as a gathering space. While cars pass along the highway overhead, residents and the local community will be able to walk or bike to their destinations within Portland. As the site stands, there is an incredible harsh threshold between the people of east Portland and the Eastbank Esplanade. The use of landscape design and integrating agriculture softens that threshold and welcomes in the locals and provides a space for gathering and activities.

The lit walkways and bike paths through the meadows provide a safe and enjoyable commute to work or for a stroll. By designing two-story living units and implementing a scissor stair as a means for egress, the building footprint is able to remain small. Building up rather than out allows for more green-space for the residents and the community to enjoy. The 4.3 acres of green-space is the home of the community gardens, but the remaining space is flexible to the community’s needs. Whether that be a seasonal market or a future building site, the infrastructure now exists. Also, the 12’ floor to floor height in each of the buildings allows for a seamless change in program. With an existing bus stop on site, and the Eastbank Esplanade along the Willamette riverside, the site is incredibly walkable with has easy access to public transportation. Also, residents and the surrounding community are welcome to partake in the community garden space. To inspire community involvement, the interstate columns are covered with murals painted by local artists. Materials such as precast concrete and reclaimed wood are from suppliers located just a few blocks away from the site. Also, by using vegetation as a key member of the facade, it will provide sun protection when needed most, and allow for daylight in the overcast, winter months as the leaves fall.

Hovering above the congested knot where I-64 meets the Ohio River, this housing complex takes root in the epicenter of the fracture from Eisenhower’s interstate system. Ripping the city fabric of Louisville, Kentucky, the highway system tore the industrial city from the river that had historically fueled its prosperity, drove its population to the suburbs and prompted the obesity plague of fast food chains along its corridors. An almost entirely renter-occupied neighborhood where half live below the poverty line and a third require food stamps, is desperately in need of a means to escape the cycle of barely scraping by in the city. By boldly nesting above the hotbed, an incessant community is reawakened, a connection to nature is reestablished and a new urban generation of Kentucky farmers is born. With reclaimed highway pedestrian and bike paths leading into the commercial district, the local working class will have a foothold in transforming the 9-5 ghost town into a vibrant model of green living. Property and burglary crimes will be greatly reduced outside of business hours and a vibrant, engaging community will surveil itself through evening and weekend programming including farmer’s markets, harvest festivals and new riverwalk amenities such as kayak and bike rentals, outdoor yoga classes and park visitors. Our rent-to-own business model seeks to increase homeownership from the area’s current 12% and target young millennials. By foregoing the tiresome commutes with local housing, the neighborhood is activated by passionate inhabitants around the clock. Four systems of

gardening harmoniously work together to achieve a healthy living environment in Kentucky’s mild climate. Each of the 144 units comes complete with an array of 4’x4’ square-foot gardening beds that yield surplus creating economic opportunities at the produce market below. Every unit’s glass curtain wall assuages natural light and heat through the use of vine adorned shading screens, while intensive green roofs naturally insulate the units while also supporting the biodiversity of local flora and fauna. Through both active and passive means, polluted highway air below is propelled upwards through a network of air filtering plants before releasing the air above into the sky-high community. Kentucky has the highest rate of fast food restaurants per capita leading to obesity and health issues despite its rich agricultural roots. New businesses will rejuvenate this heritage even in its largest city as clean, local food grown in the complex mitigates its food desert crisis. A restaurant, an organic juice bar, test kitchen spaces and culinary classrooms fill the first four levels of the building off of the North 10th Street entrance. Farm to Table dining is put on full display as each unit not only has a square footage garden to support its occupants twice over, but the lower level 9000+ square foot commercial space bolsters the need for local food sources and creative culinary ventures. Like a tree pushing through a crack in a sidewalk, this housing complex brazenly overtakes the highway to relaunch a community and renew the city’s affinity for nature.