Hybrid of Two Negative Urban Infrastructures
Negative urban infrastructure tends to be alienated from the city center due to its unpleasurable and imposing appearance. As a wastewater treatment plant, this essential infrastructure serving an entire city is considered a negative aspect of the urban environment which brings the NIMBY effect from adjacent neighborhoods. Moreover, due to its disoriented location, the infrastructure loses its efficiency as it travels around the city. To increase the efficiency of the infrastructure and raise public awareness of urban sustainability, two neglected urban domains, wastewater treatment system, and mental rehabilitation, are combined into one. The result is located at the edge of the Chicago River.
These two domains are highly related through the way in which the water travels and is treated in the metropolitan region. The hybrid building demonstrates the process from clean water to black water and the purifying system from used water to freshwater. Through exposing the entire water treatment system within the building, different forms of water are incorporated into space and utilized in the rehabilitation program as a form of mental therapy.
Ultimately, the hybrid of the negative urban infrastructure creates a new type of public domain that enhances community health and urban sustainability.