Architecture as collective empowerment
Wood Spectacle
Wood Spectacle is a co-operative housing framework developed for Vine City, Atlanta—an area shaped by cycles of displacement and disinvestment. Rather than relying on external developers, the project proposes a resident-led system of shared ownership, anchored in Georgia’s timber economy. Through partnerships with churches and local sawmills, the Wood City Co-op trains residents in woodcraft, reuses reclaimed lumber, and constructs mass timber housing and micro-industries. This spatial and economic loop reinvests value into the community, enabling autonomy and long-term stability. Layered spaces of production, housing, and gathering form a resilient neighborhood built not just for—but by—its people
Location: Vine City, Atlanta, GA
Team: Ruxuan Zheng, Jiani Dai, Chongyang Ren, Jingyi Liu
Story of Benz Stadium and the Neighbourhood
Section View
Phases
Phase I: Initiate the Loop
As a new layer built over the existing Belt Parkway, this phase reclaims the highway edge as an infrastructural foundation and public platform. By transforming the barrier into a connective spine, it breaks the long-standing separation between the waterfront and surrounding neighborhoods—introducing light rail and housing to restore urban-coastal continuity.
Phase II: Activate the Edge
This phase layers ecological buffers, public spaces, and additional housing into the loop. It turns the shoreline into a dynamic zone of community, mobility, and environmental interface.
Phase III: Inhabit the Edge
Responding to the growing demand for housing and economic activity, this phase introduces a hotel and mid-rise rental units. Rather than isolating development, it embeds them within the flood-adaptive loop—demonstrating a new, climate-responsive approach to urban density along the coast.
Phase IV: Evolve with the Coast
Future phasesenvisions the loop as a continuous, living system—growing incrementally based on local needs and environmental shifts. It extends beyond static planning, offering a framework where architecture, nature, and human life remain interconnected and adaptive over time.
