Off the Road
at UIC School of Architecture
w/critic Xavier Vendrell

The Airstream travel trailer, a highly recognizable design icon and cultural symbol representing the freedom of the open road, is the catalyst for an innovative housing alternative in downtown Chicago. Varied levels of permanence as well as an almost fanatical devotion of its owners has the potential to create a community that capitalizes on the efficiency of the travel trailer itself while creating new possibilities for space and inhabitation.

Each Airstream is lifted from the ground and plugged-in to a self-contained glass living area. The temperature, humidity, and lighting within the living areas are individually controlled, thereby creating endless possibilities for custom environments. Considering the relatively tight quarters and limited services in the Airstream, the project itself is based on the design of added communal space, utilities, activities, as well as environments much different from the urban context of Chicago. Gyms, playgrounds, greenhouses, restaurants, a library, and large community kitchens provide what would otherwise be missing from the typical suburban and rural trailer park, while simultaneously creating opportunities for a new kind of living in the city.

 Marina City as Vertical Trailer Park Individual unit layout with possibilities for additional programmatic space.  Axonometric depicting: roof greenhouse environment, Glass-enclosed living areas for all seasons,  unit schemes by floors, Airstream elevator system, hook-ups and utilities, and circulation 1/32" Scale Model