Developed for The Museum of Modern Art's Foreclosed: Rehousing the American Dream exhibition, "The Garden in the Machine" is a proposal for transforming the inner-ring suburb of Cicero, Illinois, to better meet the living and working needs of its residents. The exhibition is the culmination of research and design work that began in May 2011, when five architect-led teams were chosen by MoMA to examine new architectural possibilities for five separate U.S. suburbs in the context of the recent foreclosure crisis. To take on Cicero’s specific challenges, Jeanne Gang assembled a diverse team, including Roberta M. Feldman, Theaster Gates, Greg Lindsay, Kate Orff, Rafi Segal, and a number of other experts on varied subjects from finance to environmental remediation.

Cicero, a former factory town, struggles with the foreclosure of its industrial properties as well as its homes. With its abandoned factories and subsequently vanished jobs, Cicero’s high immigrant population is faced with unemployment, poverty, and environmental degradation.

“The Garden in the Machine” demonstrates how the remains of Cicero’s industry—its lands, building materials, and existing rail infrastructure—could be transformed into healthy and thriving neighborhoods. It proposes using nature and technology to improve the land, while combining housing and jobs within new, flexible live/work structures interwoven with a variety of public green spaces. In addition to this architectural vision, the project proposes revised zoning and a different form of ownership, one that allows citizens to purchase and sell shares corresponding to the live/work units they occupy.  With the increased economic opportunities created by these proposed conditions, Cicero could become a successful “arrival city” where America’s newest residents can pursue their own, uniquely 21st-century American Dreams.

Curator: Barry Bergdoll, The Philip Johnson Chief Curator of Architecture and Design, MoMA