Sadly, much of the Michael Reese Hospital campus was or will be torn down. The ward and city decided to tear most of it down despite claims that several of the buildings on campus were designed by Bauhaus and modernist architect Walter Gropius. This was being debated while we worked on the school project, buildings of which we could demolish or reuse. I decided to create some additions and subtractions to certain buildings, but altogether under the umbrella of adaptive reuse by use of salvaged construction materials.
The program for this project was to create any new purpose for the old site, with as many or few buildings as necessary, with a focus on sustainability. I decided to also preserve many of the buildings (although plans changed as some were demolished early), both for reasons of sustainability and preservation of buildings, in particular, those of Gropius.
Within the modernist tradition, I created new homes with specific functions relative to the existing forms. The park and open space would not be built on, for the most part, and the community would invoke relaxation, fun and communing with nature as opposed to its rather cut-off and stark reputation of the past.