Issuu

OCTOBER 21, 2025

PARTICIPATORY

ARCHITECTURE OF

MEDIUM COMPLEXITY

COMMUNITY

POCKET HUBS

PARTICIPATORY ARCHITECTURE OF MEDIUM COMPLEXITY

AD2025

INSTITUTO TECNOLÓGICO DE ESTUDIOS SUPERIORES DE MONTERREY, CAMPUS QUERÉTARO.

TEACHING TEAM

RODRIGO PANTOJA CALDERÓN | ARCHITECT AND

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT

DIANA GARCÍA CEJUDO | MSC IN ARCHITECTURE

PEDRO MENDOZA | ARCHITECT

YETZI VERÓNICA TAFOYA TORRES | URBAN PLANNER

ANDREA MARÍA PARGA VAZQUEZ | EDITORIAL

VIVIANA MARGARITA BARQUERO DÍAZ BARRIGA | ARCHITECT

DANIELA CRUZ NARANJO | ARCHITECT

SANTIAGO LUJÁN CÓRDOVA | ARCHITECT

CARLOS GONZÁLEZ | ARCHITECT

UDO PAUL MUCHOW | ARCHITECT

ALLIANCES

IIT - ILLINOIS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

ROGELIO CADENA, JUSTIN DEGROFF, DIRK DENINSON

STUDENT

ALFONSINA ESPINOSA AZUARA

In Chicago, Latino adults face uninsured rates nearly three times higher than those of nonHispanic white residents. For thousands of families, this means living on the edge: a chronic illness or accident could immediately trigger financial hardship, limiting their access to even the most basic healthcare services.

MANIFIESTO

Sociodemographic Context of Chicago and Need for Community Care

Socioeconomic inequality

Immigrant population

Unequal access to services

1 in every 5 adults is uninsured

→ Postponement of medical care

Community Pocket Hubs

Dental Care Medical Care

Health

Integrated Well-Being

INTRODUCTION

The diagram shows how socioeconomic inequality, a large immigrant population, and unequal access to services in Chicago contribute to a major healthcare coverage gap In some groups, 1 in 5 adults is uninsured, causing delays in medical, dental, and mental health care

To address this issue, the proposal introduces the Community Pocket Hubs neighborhood-scale centers that integrate essential healthcare services with community activation and social programs. Their purpose is to support accessible preventive care while strengthening social cohesion.

The final outcome illustrated is integrated well-being, achieved through improved access, prevention, and community connection.

URBAN HEALTH INEQUALITY

The U.S. healthcare system reflects a market-based model in which access to medical services is not universally guaranteed. The combination of unregulated pricing and complex administrative structures has produced one of the most expensive systems in the world, generating significant inequities in who can obtain timely and adequate care.

WHAT’STHE PROBLEM?

In major U.S. cities and especially in Chicago healthcare access has splintered into a pattern of urban medical segregation. High costs, insurance disparities, and uneven city planning have created neighborhoods where clinics, specialists, and mental-health services are almostabsent.

On Chicago’s South and West Sides, uninsured rates reach up to three times those of wealthier, majority-white districts. This forces residents to postpone care, endure silent deterioration, and face emergencies that generate crushing medicaldebt.

The issue is not simply about cost it is a structural urban failure that consistently leaves the same communities without the basic healthcare infrastructure required to preventavoidablesuffering.

ISMEDICAL SEGREGATION REAL,ORISITJUST A"COST

PROBLEM"?

Medical segregation is the systemic, unequal distribution of healthcare resources and quality based on race, socioeconomic status, and ability to pay.

AREASOF SEGREGATION

This diagram illustrates three structural forms of segregation that shape the lived reality of uninsured communities.

Financial segregation highlights how the cost-driven healthcare system restricts access to those who can afford high-tier coverage.

Geographic segregation shows how low-income neighborhoods often designated as “health deserts” lack essential medical and mental health facilities, forcing residents to rely on distant or overcrowded services

Mental health segregation underscores how psychological and psychiatric care remain inaccessible luxuries, leaving vulnerable populations without the support needed to maintain emotional and social wellbeing.

Together, these layers reveal how systemic barriers intersect, reinforcing inequality and limiting access to even the most fundamental forms of care.

GEOGRAPHIC SEGREGATION

MENTAL HEALTH SEGREGATION

THE VICIOUS CYCLE OF HEALTHEXCLUSION

This diagram illustrates how vulnerable populations become trapped in a repeating loop of health exclusion. In the United States, 11% of adults remain uninsured, but the burden is far greater in marginalized groups: among Hispanic adults, the rate rises to 24.6%, and in several Chicago neighborhoods such as Little Village or Brighton Park it reaches 26–27%

Without insurance, people avoid seeking care due to cost, leading to silent deterioration until conditions become emergencies. Emergency visits then generate overwhelming medical debt, deepening financial instability. This debt pushes individuals further away from the healthcare system, causing relapse and renewed exclusion, which restarts the cycle.

The circular nature of the diagram emphasizes how each stage reinforces the next, creating a structural trap that disproportionately affects low-income and minority communities.

RUIN AND MASSIVE DEBT

MASSIVE

URBAN CONTEXT

LOCAL CONDITIONS ANDPATTERS

MENTAL ILLNESS CONCENTRATED INTHENORTHWEST

HEALTHINSURANCEDEFINES VULNERABLEAGES

HEALTHINSURANCEINBALANCE BYRACIALACCESIBILITY

OBESITYANDDIABETESREIGNS INUNINSUREDAREAS

EMPLOYMENTCONCENTRATION DRIVESCOMMUTINY

HOUSEHOLDBURDENFUELS MENTALDISTRESS

NEIGHBORHOOD VULNERABILITY THROUGH TRANSITDISCONNECTION

RACIAL DIVISION AND THEIR HEALTHSERVICEANDSPACES INBALANCE

SITECONTEXT

The study area, located in Chicago’s northwestern edge near Downtown, has evolved into a high-income, predominantly white enclave. Over the past two decades, massive reinvestment has reshaped the district, replacing industrial infrastructure and working-class immigrant communities with high-density housing, retail clusters, and tech-oriented office spaces. This wave of adaptive reuse marks a shift in Chicago’s economic priorities: historic industrial shells have been converted into creative workplaces and lifestyle developments, while the area’s original cultural and economic identity has been systematically displaced.

SITEOV

TRANSPORT&CONNECTIVITY

LANDUSEANDDENSITY

SERVICE GAPS AND ACCESS CHALLENGES

GREENSPACES,URBANVOIDS,AND VACANTBUILDINGS

Primary

Railway

Housing

Roads Site

Prevailing winds from the west Buildings

PURPOSE

JUAN

MARTÍNEZ

36 YEARS OLD LATINO

UNINSURED CHICAGO ESSENTIAL WORKER

ECONOMIC BARRIERS

LOW INCOME

HIGH COSTS PRIORITIZING

RENT & FOOD

SOCIAL & LEGAL BARRIERS

FEAR LANGUAGE

LIMITED INFORMATION

NEEDS

MEDICAL CARE

DENTAL CARE

COMMUNITY

HOLISTIC

WELLNESS

BARRIERS

STRESS

LACK OF SLEEP ISOLATION

BRIDGINGTHEHEALTHEQUITYGAP

COMMUNITY POCKETHUBS

DESCENTALIZED COMMUNITYHEALTH MODEL

BRIDGINGTHEHEALTHEQUITYGAP

BARRIERS HUB ACCESS

INTEGRATED,BARRIER-FREECARE

ESSENTIALMEDICALCARE

DENTALSERVICES

MENTALHEALTHPRIORITYCARE

SOCIALCOHESION

Workshops and community spaces fostering well-being and community support.

The core objective of the Community Pocket Hubs is the eradication of health access barriers.

The project is established under the fundamental mandate of ensuring that all individuals, regardless of their socioeconomic status, immigration condition, or mental health history, can access comprehensive and high-quality care.

Additional Purpose: The architectural and social infrastructure of the Hub actively seeks to narrow the social inequality gap in Chicago by neutralizing cost as a factor of exclusion and fostering community cohesion through shared wellbeing.

THEPROPOSEDINTERVENTION

In a city where health is treated as a commodity, what is the true cost of being uninsured? The Community Pocket Hubs project is defined as the design of a zerocost, integrated community health center, a direct architectural and social intervention confronting the systemic inaccessibility of healthcare in Chicago. Conceived to break the vicious cycle of sickness and debt, the Hub critically merges essential access to medical, dental, and psychological care, eliminating the economic barrier that forces vulnerable populations to postpone care until illness becomes a crisis. Beyond clinical provision, the design intentionally integrates workshops and socialization spaces to act as an anchor of resilience, addressing the mental health crisis and social isolation. By being strategically situated in an area of rapid gentrification, the Hub establishes itself as a beacon of equity, asserting the right to health above economic profit.

WHY?

INACCESSIBLEHEALTHCARE

CHOICEBETWEENHEALTH&

FINANCIALRUIN

CYCLEOFSICKNESSANDDEBT

POSTPONEDCARE

WORSENINGILLNESSES

MENTALHEALTHCRISES

SOCIALISOLATION

COMMUNITYPOCKETHUBS

ZERO-COST,INTEGRATEDWELLNESSCENTER

ARTWORKSHOPS

SOCIALIZATIONSPACES

FOSTERINGBELONGINGANDEMOTIONALWELL-BEING

ANCHORFORCOMMUNITYRESILIENCE

ARTWORKSHOPS

SOCIALIZATIONSPACES

FOSTERINGBELONGINGANDEMOTIONALWELL-BEING

STRATEGICALLYLOCATEDINAREAS

RESTRUCTUREDBYGENTRIFICATION

THERIGHTTOHEALTHABOVEECONOMICPROFIT.

STRUCTURAL BARRIERS SHAPING HEALTHINEQUITY

HOLISTICWELLNESSBARRIER

CHRONICSTRESS

ISOLATION

UNADDRESSED

PHYSICAL CONDITIONS

SOCIAL&LEGALBARRIER

LACKOF RESOURCES

UNDER-SERVED COMMUNITIES IMMIGRANT CHALLENGES

ECONOMICBARRIER

LOW-INCOME STATUS UNINSURED POPULATION HIGH HEALTHCARE COSTS

REPLICABILITYANDGLOBAL NECESSITY

The Community Pocket Hubs model transcends Chicago's borders, establishing itself as a deeply replicable and urgently needed architectural and social prototype on a global scale. Within the United States, it offers a proven solution to mitigate financial, geographical, and mental health segregation in countless cities and healthcare deserts where access to health remains a privilege. Internationally, the design can be adapted by developed nations with fragmented systems or by communities facing migration crises, serving as critical urban survival infrastructure for refugees, immigrants, and any vulnerable population. Essentially, the Hub demonstrates that a comprehensive, zero-cost, human-centered health model is universally applicable and vital for transforming health into a fundamental right in any global context.

Overview

A public place for people to meet, socialize, learn, and access recreational or support services.

Main Goal

To make “the healthy choice the easy choice” by shaping environments that naturally encourage better habits.

Evolving Role

These center are becoming community wellness hubs that promote holistic health including clinical, behavioral, and pharmaceutical care.

Geographic Focus

The project targets the Life Radius the area around one’s home where people spend most of their time.

Entering the center is the first step toward well-being.

LANDSCAPE,SOILANDWATER

LANDSCAPESTRATEGIES

NATIVE, DROUGHTTOLERANTSPECIES

LOW-MAINTENANCE

PLANTING SUPPORTING LOCALBIODIVERSITY

POLLINATOR-FRIENDLY

VEGETATIONCORRIDORS

SHADED STRUCTURES: GREEN PERGOLAS, TRELLISES, OR VINE SYSTEMS

SOILSTRATEGIES

PHYTOREMEDIATION USING

HYPERACCUMULATOR SPECIES

SOIL DETOXIFICATION + ORGANIC MATTER

RESTORATION

MICRO-TOPOGRAPHYAND

POROUS SUBSTRATES TO IMPROVEDRAINAGE

ON-SITE COMPOSTING TO STRENGTHEN SOIL HEALTH

WATERSTRATEGIES

RAINWATER HARVESTING INTEGRATED WITH BUILDINGROOFS

ROOF RUN-OFF COLLECTION + GREYWATER REUSE FOR IRRIGATION

PERMEABLE SURFACES (PAVERS, GRAVEL BEDS, POROUSCONCRETE)

BIOSWALES + LINEAR WETLAND STRIPS FOR STORMWATER MANAGEMENT

Public

FIRST FLOOR FIRST FLOOR

GARDEN

INFORMATION POINT

WAITING AREA

DRAWING

PAINTING

COMPUTING / COMPUTER ROOM

DANCE ROOM

MULTIPURPOSE ROOM

VISUAL ARTS ROOM

LIBRARY

COMMUNITY KITCHEN

OFFICES

CO-WORKING

WOMEN’S RESTROOMS

MEN’S RESTROOMSSTAIRS

ELEVATOR

ACCESS CONTROL

STAIRS

GROUND FLOOR GROUND FLOOR

PARK / JARDEN

PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT

STAIRS

ELEVATOR

ACCESS CONTROL

EMERGENCY PARKING

RAMP (DOWNWARD ACCESS TO THE PARKING)

BASEMENT LEVEL LEVEL

UNDERGROUND PARKING AREAS

INDOOR PLANTER

STAIRS

ELEVATOR

ACCESS CONTROL

MECHANICAL ROOM

RAMP (DOWNWARD ACCESS TO THE PARKING)

FIFTH FLOOR FIFTH FLOOR

ROOF

FOURTH FLOOR FOURTH FLOOR

GARDEN ROOFTP GARDEN

ELEVATOR

ACCESS CONTROL STAIRS

THIRD FLOOR FLOOR

GARDEN INFORMATION POINT HOUSING / DWELLING SHOWERS

CHANGING ROOM CO-WORKING

LIVING ROOM

WOMEN’S RESTROOMS MEN’S RESTROOMSSTAIRS

ELEVATOR

ACCESS CONTROL STAIRS

SECOND FLOOR

GARDEN

INFORMATION POINT

WAITING AREA

MEDICAL OFFICE

PSYCHOLOGY OFFICE DENTAL OFFICE OFFICES

WOMEN’S RESTROOMS MEN’S RESTROOMSSTAIRS ELEVATOR

ACCESS CONTROL STAIRS

VEGETATION

RED MAPLE (ACER RUBRUM)

SUGAR MAPLE (ACER SACCHARUM)

AMERICAN ELM (ULMUS AMERICANA)

BUR OAK (QUERCUS MACROCARPA)

NORTHERN RED OAK (QUERCUS RUBRA)

HONEYLOCUST (GLEDITSIA TRIACANTHOS VAR. INERMIS)

EASTERN WHITE PINE (PINUS STROBUS)

RED-OSIER DOGWOOD (CORNUS SERICEA)

AMERICAN HAZELNUT (CORYLUS AMERICANA)

CIRCULATIONS

ARCHITECTURAL PLANS

BASEMENTLEVEL

1.UNDERGROUND PARKING AREAS

2.INDOOR PLANTER

3.STAIRS

4.ELEVATOR

5.ACCESS CONTROL

6.MECHANICAL ROOM

7.RAMP (DOWNWARD ACCESS TO THE PARKING)

GROUNDFLOOR

1.PARK / JARDEN

2.PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT

3.STAIRS

4.ELEVATOR

5.ACCESS CONTROL

6.EMERGENCY PARKING

7.RAMP (DOWNWARD ACCESS TO THE PARKING)

FIRSTFLOOR

1.GARDEN

2.INFORMATION POINT

3.WAITING AREA

4.DRAWING

5.PAINTING

6.COMPUTING / COMPUTER ROOM

7.DANCE ROOM

8.MULTIPURPOSE ROOM

9.VISUAL ARTS ROOM

10.LIBRARY

11.COMMUNITY KITCHEN

12.OFFICES

13.CO-WORKING

14.WOMEN’S RESTROOMS

15.MEN’S RESTROOMSSTAIRS

16.ELEVATOR

17.ACCESS CONTROL

18.STAIRS

SECONDFLOOR

1.GARDEN

2.INFORMATION POINT

3.WAITING AREA

4.MEDICAL OFFICE

5.PSYCHOLOGY OFFICE

6.DENTAL OFFICE

7.OFFICES

8.WOMEN’S RESTROOMS

9.MEN’S RESTROOMSSTAIRS

10.ELEVATOR

11.ACCESS CONTROL

12.STAIRS

THIRDFLOOR

1.GARDEN

2.INFORMATION POINT

3.HOUSING / DWELLING

4.SHOWERS

5.CHANGING ROOM

6.CO-WORKING

7.LIVING ROOM

8.WOMEN’S RESTROOMS

9.MEN’S RESTROOMSSTAIRS

10.ELEVATOR

11.ACCESS CONTROL

12.STAIRS

FOURTHFLOOR

1.GARDEN

2.ROOFTP GARDEN

3.ELEVATOR

4.ACCESS CONTROL

5.STAIRS

SECTIONS

ELEVATIONS

RENDERS

INTERIOR

EXTERIOR

STRUCTURAL

MATERIALITY

Brick

Wood

Lattices

Steel

Glass

Home Automation

Formwork + Installations

THEBUILDINGEMPLOYSAPRIMARYSTRUCTURALSYSTEMCOMPOSEDOFSTEELCOLUMNSANDANETWORKOF STEELBEAMSTHATEFFICIENTLYDISTRIBUTELOADSTOTHEFOUNDATION.THISSTRUCTURALSTEELSYSTEM ALLOWSFORGREATERSPANS,REDUCESTHEOVERALLWEIGHTOFTHEBUILDING,ANDACCELERATES CONSTRUCTIONPROCESSES.

FURTHERMORE,THEMETALSTRUCTUREENABLESMODULARITY,PREFABRICATION,ANDTHECAPACITYFOR FUTUREEXPANSIONORRECONFIGURATION.ITSRIGIDITY,DUCTILITY,ANDSTRONGPERFORMANCEUNDER DYNAMICLOADSMAKEITANOPTIMALSOLUTIONFORAHIGH-INTENSITYCOMMUNITYBUILDING.

CASE STUDIES

CENTERFORHEALTHAND WELLBEING/APTARQUITECTOS

Location: Puebla de la Calzada, Badajoz, Spain

Architect: APT Arquitectos

Year: 2023

Area: 410 m2

The program integrates primary healthcare with spaces dedicated to health promotion and wellbeing. It includes medical and nursing consultations, multipurpose rooms for prevention activities, and support areas. Its key feature is a Community Focus, designed as a social meeting and activation point to encourage healthy habits and community cohesion. Spaces are flexible to adapt to different uses.

Materiality

The material selection emphasizes sustainability and contextual integration. Ceramic Brick is used on the façades, providing a warm, traditional texture related to vernacular architecture. Exposed Concrete offers structural solidity. The design prioritizes systems that maximize natural light and cross-ventilation, reducing the need for artificial climate control.

Structure

The structure is simple and modular to allow for programmatic flexibility. It uses a Portico Structure (columns and beams) that frees the internal walls, making future modifications easier. The construction is optimized for sustainability and reduced environmental impact.

Spatial Logic

The design is based on the duality of privacy and openness. The building is organized around interior courtyards (patios), which function as "lungs" for light and ventilation, and as transitional spaces. Circulation is clear, and the Indoor-Outdoor Connection is achieved through courtyards and large windows, creating an welcoming and therapeutic environment (Biophilic Architecture).

Context

The project responds to the social and urban needs of its location. It seeks Urban Insertion with a respectful scale, avoiding a cold institutional image. By creating an attractive public space, it contributes to the social and physical betterment of the site, acting as a driver for comprehensive community development.

COMMUNITYDEVELOPMENTCENTER/

CCA|BERNARDOQUINZAÑOS

Location: Jalpa de Méndez, Tabasco, México

Architect: CCA

Focus Community Mental Health and Inclusion

Year: 2022 (not finished)

Area: 1240 m2

The CDC focuses on cultural and educational development to foster social integration and inclusive development, forming part of a larger public space revitalization project (El Campestre Recreational Park).

Core Focus: Cultural and educational development as a driver for social wellbeing.

Key Spaces: Multifunctional classrooms, workshops, meeting areas, and an outdoor auditorium.

Social Wellbeing: It promotes wellbeing by offering training opportunities and a safe space for community life, strengthening the social fabric and local economy.