The Biogenic Commons of Utica, New York situates a campus of reclaimed and biogenic materials through a sequence of exhibition spaces and public interfaces. Operating between the building’s materiality and its modes of display, the project re-reads existing building stock and development logics, casting reuse and biogenic material implementation as a critical instrument for environmental and health-based intervention at a community scale. Organized as a progression from entry to greenhouse, the campus foregrounds material life cycles through assemblies such as gabion walls of recycled asphalt and structures composed of formerly toxic, reconditioned residential windows reclaimed from demolition. Working between exhibition and public programming, the project incorporates community-based lead testing as an extension of its material inquiry, inviting visitors into a space dedicated to improving environmental and community health across the city.
