A City Within a City
Marina City with a Vertical Garden
A planted envelope for Marina City, combining deeper balconies, terracotta enclosures, and removable soil pods that residents can arrange and maintain.
Context
The project begins with the social role of ornament: can a building’s outward expression also offer useful space to its residents? Marina City becomes the setting for a facade renovation that connects the scale of Chicago’s skyline with the intimate scale of a balcony garden.
Approach
Ceramic unit studies generate a system of terracotta enclosures and removable planting pods. Expanded balconies make space for soil and vegetation, translating a small material prototype into a repeated but individually adaptable building envelope.
Ecological ornament
Planting is proposed as a way to add shade, soften the urban edge, and bring vegetation into daily domestic life. The architectural focus is how residents can inhabit and care for the added facade, allowing individual gardens to contribute to the towers’ changing appearance.
Resident-built system
Selected apartments become duplexes with deeper balconies that hold soil. Terracotta enclosure units receive removable sub-pods with flexible bases, allowing each resident to plant and rearrange a personal garden while the collection reads as a shared civic facade.