CULTURAL INCUBATOR STADIUM

During our research process we focused our time to analyze the site and the city; we encountered several social issues that we wanted to address in our design.  There were problems with gentrification in the neighborhood were the site takes place.  First, this part of the city, which is transforming constantly due to the location and real estate investment, is displacing minorities groups like African Americans and Latinos including the small independent businesses in the area. Second, the rural areas in the state of Iowa are facing unprecedented relocation of its citizens to the cities resulting in overcrowding of the metropolises and abandonment of the countryside.  Therefore, instead of developing housing concepts we decided to target a manner in how to help these individuals, folks with ideas, economically through Cultural Incubators.

The general idea behind our design came after analyzing the site by concluding that we desired to bring the Waterworks Park into our site as an uninterrupted landscape. This resulted in elevating the massing above ground preventing the manipulation of the field site reducing excavating costs.  Throughout several iterations, it was clear that our main massing needed to convey a vision of lightness, a steel structure suspended and visible from afar.  With the implementation of a long-span structure, we managed to design the main body suspended by a truss apparatus that envelopes the massing.  This truss apparatus lands on the site via three truss segments keeping the suspended structure in equilibrium.  Another stage in our design was the implementation of vertical circulation allowing the user to climb to the building; it was implemented a suspended ramp that would allow every user (ADA approved) ascend with no issues.  This ramp does not interfere with the landscape underneath the stadium.

The materials used in our design include frosted glass and aluminum sheets as part of the main skin of the building, glazing membranes connecting the stadium and the ground supported by a steel mesh system. 

As mentioned in what was behind our concept design, our vision of what would become this soccer stadium after it is decommissioned, we saw an opportunity to harvest “Startups” through the implementation of cultural incubators and accelerators.  After seeing that the gentrification process will not help the minorities in this neighborhood, we decided that the best way to counteract the shift of small businesses is to help them grow and expand.  Cultural incubators help in that matter by providing access to mentorship, experts, investors as well partnerships.  The main structure of the stadium stays untouched, the bleachers are removed, and what was windows openings serve as anchors for the shell spaces that will act as incubators.  We targeted professional areas like Arts, Engineering, Agriculture, Business, Tech and their respective Accelerator programs.   Once the small businesses have gone through the incubation process, the accelerators will propel them through access to funding, introduction to national and international networks, experts support, capital, and access to the community markets.  This with the objective of becoming a scalable company ready to depart from the incubator stadium and take place in the neighborhoods once again contributing with the economy.