SPICY SYSTEMS: CHICAGO'S INTERNATIONAL SPICE MARKET My building acts as Chicago's spice market, housing the growing and selling of spices from different cultures, enriching our appreciation of different spices and cultural approaches to food. To reinforce the spice market's cultural role, growing environments also act as exhibits to educate through demonstration and immersion. The cultural role is also shared through the distribution of spices to the rest of Chicago and the surrounding population. The spice market is comprised of nested microclimate volumes within a larger volume. The placement and dimension of microclimates is formed and arranged according to plant height, temperature, spacing, and sunlight. Each climate creates a different world to explore and learn from. The glass enclosure announces the spice market to the street and lifts at the first floor to welcome the public to another world, one flooded with the smells, sights, and potentials of numerous spice cultures.
