​SW Detroit is home to the most pollution-intensive industries in the Midwest region. Due to the area's close proximity to water, natural resources such as coal, iron ore, and oil dominate the inputs for these local industrial processes. As a result, atmospheric acids and toxic particulates exist in excess throughout, causing a multitude of negative health effects for local residents and employees. Structures are also not immune to this caustic environment, which can quickly strip paint, corrode metals, and erode stone from existing buildings. 
In response to contemporary industrial conditions, 'War Within a Breath' uses the act of deterioration to add a visual depth of time, fuse the building into its surrounding environment, and force interaction with the ecological health of the area.
Located on Fordson Island, in the center of Detroit's industrial heart, this workers' club seeks to filter the toxic conditions in a fashion which promotes visibility to both pollutants and inhabitants. As the building will act as a giant filtration system, the effects of that filtration process will be made legible on the exterior of the building, providing a degree of legibility to otherwise invisible toxic particulates. For the workers, the club will contain places of recreation, vocational training, triage, and assembly. These programmatic elements will provide a space to satisfy the needs of industrial life in a system that places the welfare of industry over that of the individual who serves it.