UrbanLab

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UrbanLab is an architecture and urban design firm founded in Chicago, Illinois in 2001 by Martin Felsen and Sarah Dunn. Focusing on projects ranging from residential renovations to square-mile urban planning, most projects are team-based and bring in other people from many disciplines such as "designers, engineers, artists, fabricators and builders." ^[1] They have been featured in exhibits at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Art Institute of Chicago, and the Museum of Science and Industry.

[edit] Growing Water

An aerial view of the Growing Water project.

UrbanLab recently won a competition for the History Channel's City of the Future: A Design and Engineering Challenge.^[2] The competition asked architects in three cities, New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles to develop a conceptual plan for their city 100 years from now. The teams competed and a finalist for each city was named. In the final round of the competition, with acclaimed architect Daniel Libeskind serving as master of ceremonies, UrbanLab was announced the national winner after a month long online vote.

UrbanLab's project, Growing Water, ^[3] starts with the assumption that in 100 years that "water will be the new oil"^[3] and envisions a Chicago that recycles 100% of its waste water back into Lake Michigan. The project is inspired by Chicago's rich history including its boulevard system, the reversal of the Chicago River and the Deep Tunnel project.^[3] The plan calls for new boulevards to be created that would channel waste water from buildings into greenhouse and wetland systems that would clean the water and send it back the lake while creating a new network of social and recreational spaces, new parks, and corridors. These new corridors would be termed "eco-boulevards" and be spaced about every half-mile in the city. ^[4]