in the food truck future
Illinois Institute of Technology
Chicago, IL
Prof. Nilay Mistry
Spring 2019
Our world is becoming increasingly groundless due to autonomous technologies - goods delivered by drones, food being printed, an endless dietary summer, interactions over phone screens. This project proposes to repurpose such technolgies to re-ground the city, starting with the ground itself. Interlocking boards are programmed to form different types of structures - planting beds, green houses, market stalls, seating, and steps to the subway entrance. On site, different autonomous robots, such as harvesters, watering machines, and transport vehicles, use the boards as tracks for movement. Although the site uses modern technologies, the reactive surface begins to behave more like a “real” farm - changing with seasons, shifting uses, and bringing people back together in person.
The site is in the River North neighborhood, a dense extension of downtown Chicago. Currently, the site is being developed as a luxury mixed-use block. This project proposes the opposite - a site of producution that provides space for all residents, regardless of income and status.
