CIN
Industrial Arts Center

The Live/Make Center is conceptualized as a contribution to the reconstruction of the neighborhood and as a civic interface between the “lower and upper cities” of Cincinnati, mediated through building form and landscape. At the scale of the city the project provides both an urban backdrop and lyrical passage through the site, connecting the brewery district with the landscape to the north and the University neighborhood. A backdrop of housing slabs asserts a defined edge of the city, while the horizontal plinth negotiates the exchange between ‘city’ and ‘landscape’ across this boundary. Productively revisiting the canonical tower/plinth strategy, the design proposal weaves together social programs, fabrication studios and residential units. Building from the existing warehouse, the project presents a two story structure at street edge which is eroded through urban and landscape connections, and the inner workings of the live/make complex. Figuration is introduced to elaborate connections, provide light and articulate significant program. Formal exchange – figure and ground – is deployed at social and programmatic junctures throughout the project. The project includes a library/media center and a fitness center – a classical bracketing of intellection and recreation – to amplify the creative potential of live/make, and serve as civic amenities for the district.