James R. Thompson Center
State of Illinois Building
2021 Chicago Prize Competition Chicago Architecture Center and Chicago Architectural Club
COMPETITION INFORMATION For the 2021 Chicago Prize, the Chicago Architecture Center and the Chicago Architectural Club call for new visions for the State of Illinois Center/James R. Thompson Center. Designed by Helmut Jahn, the State of Illinois Center, also known as James R. Thompson Center, is facing the threat of complete demolition. Located in the Chicago “Loop” it is a major transportation node, commercial center and workspace. The building has been criticized for being ugly, oversized, inefficient, and poorly maintained. However, the Thompson Center has been pivotal to urban transit and a highly democratic contemporary civic center. At the time of its construction in 1985, Helmut Jahn’s State of Illinois Center was a stark contrast to Chicago’s historic and modernist architecture, yet today it is an architectural icon in its own right. For the fourth year in a row, the Thompson Center has been listed in the Landmarks Illinois’ annual Most Endangered Historic Places in Illinois and it was included in Preservation Chicago’s Chicago 7 Most Endangered list in 2018, 2019, and 2020. The Chicago Architectural Club and the Chicago Architecture Center ask the 2021 Chicago Prize participants to envision a new life for the building through restorative architecture.
Image provided by JAHN. 2021 Chicago Prize _ Page 2
INTRODUCTION: THOMPSON CENTER Built in 1985, the State of Illinois Center/James R. Thompson Center resulted from the collaboration of Murphy/Jahn and Lester B. Knight & Associates and was commissioned by the State of Illinois and Governor James R. Thompson (1936 – 2020). The building is located in the Chicago “Loop” on a site delimited by Lake Street to the north, Randolph Street to the south, Clark Street to the east, and LaSalle Street to the west. The Thompson Center’s design aims to express its civic function as a government building. It’s height and scale relate to the neighboring Chicago City Hall/Cook County Building, it is connected to several subway and elevated CTA lines, and the original scheme included energy considerations. The north and west elevations follow the street, while a curved stepped glass curtain-wall facade breaks the rigidity of the city’s grid on the south-east corner, opening up an outdoor plaza and defining the main entrance to the building’s central space, the atrium. Public art is displayed in the plaza and free standing columns articulate the transition from the exterior to the interior through a covered colonnade. The building’s facades are almost completed made of glass and feature a combination of transparent and reflective panels. Inside the building the atrium is revealed: a breathtaking 17-story high public space covered by a slanted skylight 160 feet across. The circular atrium space is a contemporary interpretation of the rotunda, a classic architectural shape historically used for civic and public buildings. “Ringed at the lower levels by shops and restaurants, and on the upper tiers by state offices, this space is what the building is really about. [...] Here, a very elegant and spidery structure enfolds the void and becomes the matrix on which everything is hung. Layers of office floor trays encircle the atrium, and the mechanics of getting up and down are celebrated. Seemingly freestanding elevator banks and articulated suspended stairways lend an air of kinetic sculpture, an impression compounded almost to limitless degrees by the kaleidoscopic reflective spandrel rings. These segmented bands turn the reflections of moving people into everchanging Duchamp paintings. The views, whether from top, middle, or ground floor are spectacular and endlessly changing.” (Murphy J., 1985) With this building Helmut Jahn proposes a new type of civic space open to the public. The floor plan’s “open office” concept and the use of glass symbolically express the idea of an accessible and transparent government. Despite it’s high tech aesthetics, the human is at the center of the Thompson Center’s design. “It is intended that it provide a humane, stimulating environment, thus reestablishing the “social role of architecture.” (Murphy J., 1985)
Image provided by JAHN. 2021 Chicago Prize _ Page 3
LEGACY OF HELMUT JAHN January 4, 1940 - May 8, 2021 Helmut Jahn, FAIA, has earned a reputation on the cutting edge of progressive architecture. His buildings have had a “staggering” influence on
architecture according to John
Zukowsky, former Associate Curator of Architecture at the Art Institute of Chicago. Jahn’s buildings have received numerous design awards and have been represented in architectural exhibitions around the world. Born in Germany, Jahn graduated from the Technische Hochschule in Munich. He came to the United States for graduate studies in architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology. After attending IIT, he worked at C. F. Murphy Associates as a Project Architect under Gene Summers, designing the new McCormick Place. In 1976, his first major high-rise building in Chicago, Xerox Centre, received great critical acclaim. Jahn has been called Chicago’s premier architect who has dramatically changed the face of Chicago. His national and international reputation has led to commissions across the United States, Europe, Africa and Asia. His projects have been recognized globally for design innovation, vitality and integrity. Featured in numerous publications, his work has generated much excitement amongst the press and general public alike. Jahn’s work has been included in exhibits worldwide since 1980. He has taught at the University of Illinois at Chicago, was the Elliot Noyes Professor of Architectural Design at Harvard University and the Davenport Visiting Professor of Architectural Design at Yale University, and Thesis Professor at IIT.
Image: Sketch by Helmut Jahn of Thompson Center, 1985. 2021 Chicago Prize _ Page 4
COMPETITION BRIEF The architecture of Chicago is defined by its many layers of innovative architecture that have occurred throughout its history--the preservation, rethinking, repurposing and renewal of its most important buildings is critical to carry on the city’s long-standing reputation as a center of architectural innovation. The Thompson Center’s design was progressive for its time. Dwelling in the vertical shadows of modern icons like Mies van der Rohe’s Daley Center, Helmut Jahn’s mid- rise Thompson Center pierced the trends of neighboring International Style and Neoclassical buildings with a revolutionary concept for a civic building, one that represents a promising future of “transparency and accessibility”. Bringing together the various services of government offices in one building, the Thompson Center is also a major transit hub and a place for gathering to enjoy art, shop, and dine. Jahn brings open space indoors with the remarkable glazed 17-story grand atrium. Known as a “people’s center” or a “people’s palace”, the building was a symbol of government accessibility, transparency, and commitment to serving the people. This was a bold departure from how government buildings used to interface with the public. With modern materials adorning the slight colorful twists of the patriotic red, white and blue, and a building shape referencing the grand domes of the government structures in our state’s capitol, Jahn’s postmodern marvel has been recognized worldwide in both praise and criticism. Often mistaken for a stadium or perhaps a spaceship, since its construction, the James R. Thompson Center has generated contrasting feelings: it has been praised for its progressive architecture, and criticized for being oversized, inefficient, and costly to operate. Deferred maintenance and the lack of long-term reinvestment has taken a toll on the building through worn surfaces and failing systems. Helmut Jahn’s original design specified the use of double pane glazing for the building’s facades, which was later substituted with single pane glazing due to cost considerations. This resulted in overheated offices in the summer and severe condensation/ice buildup in winter. Additional cooling towers were later installed to regulate these drastic conditions, which have proven costly to maintain and operate. It is reported that the building’s energy usage is double that of similar downtown structures.
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In 2015 former Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner announced his interest in the sale or demolition of the Thompson Center. Located in Chicago’s Central Business District and having exceptional access to transit, the property is expected to command top dollar if sold to a developer. In 2019, Illinois Democratic Governor Jay Robert Pritzker signed a bill to begin its sale. In May of 2021, just days before Jahn’s passing, Governor Pritzker issued the RFP for the Thompson Center. “Governor Pritzker has the opportunity, after years of neglect by his predecessors, to lead thru the sale of the Thompson Center by giving it new life. Repurposing the building the right way could go beyond what the building ever was, making it better, more public, and a place where you want to work, stay overnight, live or just visit and feel good. Miracles and dreams can become real.” (Helmut Jahn, 2020) The Thompson Center has been pivotal to Chicago as a transit hub, a revolutionary civic center that opened itself to the city, and an architectural milestone that symbolized a bold transition and looked toward a new future of architecture. Can our approach to renewal be one that doesn’t result in erasure but that builds upon the foundations of the past?
For the 2021 Chicago Prize, the Chicago Architectural Club and the Chicago Architecture Center are calling for new, creative visions for the State of Illinois Center to give it new life while preserving its architecture and public character.
EXISTING PROPOSALS TO SAVE OR DEMOLISH
Helmut Jahn’s 2015 proposal for adaptive reuse, adapting the building for commercial uses or “co-living” apartments.
Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture’s proposal for demolition and redevelopment of site to a 115-story “supertall” skyscraper.
Image: Rendering by JAHN, 2015
Image: Rendering by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, 2017
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SITE • J.R. Thompson Center is located at 100 West Randolph Street. • Site is 2.9 acres and free of alleys. • Directly links to the city’s busiest CTA station, served by six train lines, and to the Chicago Pedway System, a network of underground pedestrian pathways connecting many downtown buildings and transit stations. • Located across the street from City Hall.
PROGRAM This is a speculative ideas competition for preserving J.R. Thompson Center through architectural interventions that repurpose the building through rehabilitation. There is not a set program for this competition; your definition of the program is part of the design problem. Submissions will be assessed on the identification of the issues and the design proposal’s efficacy in addressing these issues.
Image provided by JAHN. 2021 Chicago Prize _ Page 7
SCHEDULE
AWARDS
Competition Announcement: May 21 Competition Information: June 7 Jury Announcement: June
First Place: $1,500 Second Place: $1,000 Third Place: $500
Questions Period Deadline: Early Registration Closes: Regular Registration Closes: Competition Submission Deadline:
June 25 June 25 July 2 July 19 at 5pm CST
Jury Deliberation: Late July Winners Announced: August Chicago Architecture Center Exhibition: Early Fall *Answers to all questions will be posted to the competition website
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FEES Early Registration Fee: Regular Registration Fee:
$75 ($30 Students) $90 ($50 Students)
*Students (please submit pdf copy of valid 2020-21 Student ID)
REGISTRATION
ELIGIBILITY
To register for the competition go to the website http://chicagoarchitecturalclub.org, follow the payment instructions, and send an email to competitionentries@chicagoarchitecturalclub.org with the contact information for the entrant or designated team leader. Supplied Materials will be emailed to team leader.
The 2021 Chicago Prize Competition is open to anyone with a vision for Helmut Jahn’s State of Illinois Center/James R. Thompson Center including students, architects, designers, planners, and artists.
Confirmation of the registration along with a random 5-digit registration number will be emailed to the registrant (individual or the team leader) for identification of the final submission. One registration is required per project submitted. Participants may submit multiple entries or be part of multiple teams, but each submission must have an individual registration number. Registration fees are non-refundable. Fees will not be returned under any circumstances. By registering for the competition, competitors agree to all competition terms and conditions.
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Members of the Board of Directors of the Chicago Architectural Club, staff and members of the jury or their families, or those involved with the preparation or funding of this competition may not participate. This competition is to be conducted solely via this website. The official language of the competition is English. All drawings and architectural scales should be expressed in feet and inches.
SUPPLIED MATERIALS
SUBMISSIONS
DWG files of Thompson Center. Scanned original working drawings. Photos of buidling. Digital Model of Chicago Loop around Thompson Center.
Submissions are due at 5pm U.S. Central Time on July 19, 2021. Submissions are electronic and submitted via email only. The following materials should be submitted:
ANONYMITY & OWNERSHIP The 2021 Chicago Prize is an anonymous competition. No names of team members shall appear on graphic material or in file names. The unique 5-digit registration number is the only means of identification. All material received by the competition organizers becomes their property, including reproduction rights. The intellectual property rights for each submission remain with the author(s) of the submission. The Chicago Architectural Club and Chicago Architecture Center reserves the right to publish, exhibit, or present the work submitted to this competition in any format.
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1. A maximum of four 11 inch x 17 inch boards (tabloid) oriented in portrait format. Each board must include the 5-digit assigned registration number in the lower right hand corner. Boards must be combined into a single four-page document and submitted in PDF format. The file should be named with the 5-digit registration number- “12345. pdf.” 2. A written statement of no more than 250 words explaining your ideas. The file should be named “Statement_12345.doc.” This file must be a .txt, .doc, or .rtf file, NOT a .pdf. 3. A single page document with team identification and contact information. Include: Project title, names of team members, leader’s telephone number, and email address. The file should be named “ID_12345.doc.” This file must be a .txt, .doc, or .rtf file, NOT a .pdf. The source of any third party materials incorporated in the entry must also be included; this source information may exceed one page if necessary. All three files must be then saved in a single ZIP file named with the 5-digit registration number “12345.zip.” This zipped file should not exceed 5MB. The single ZIP file should be sent via email to: competitionentries@chicagoarchitecturalclub.org . The email subject line should read “Registration Number_12345.” Upon announcement of the winners, higher resolution images may be requested from winning submissions and selected entries. Upon jury decision, shortlisted entries will be contacted to submit posters and may be asked to submit coordination drawings/digital models for a physical model in the subsequent exhibition at the Chicago Architecture Center. Posters and model drawings will be submitted digitally.
QUESTIONS
REFERENCES
Questions regarding the competition will be accepted until June 25, 2021. Questions should be emailed to: competitionentries@chicagoarchitecturalclub. org. Answers will be posted on the Chicago Architectural Club’s website.
1. Carodine, Victoria. “Jahn’s Alternative to the Demolition of Its Thompson Center.” Architect. January 2017. 2. Eddy, Nathan. “Starship Chicago.” Vimeo. 2018. 3. Hickman, Matt. “Helmut Jahn pitches proposal to save Chicago’s Thompson Center” The Architect’s Newspaper, February 2020. 4. Murphy, Jim. “2000 and Beyond. The new State of Illinois Center: infamous, a noble effort, or both?.” Progressive Architecture. December 1985. 5. Ori, Ryan. “Architect Helmut Jahn leaves behind two big Chicago projects with uncertain outcomes after death in cycling accident.” May 2021 6. Ori, Ryan. “It’s official: The Thompson Center is up for sale.” Chicago Tribune. May 2021 Websites to Reference • https://www.jahn-us.com/ • https://preservationchicago.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/ThompsonCenter-2020-Chicago-7-Write-Up-Final.pdf
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2021 Chicago Prize, Jury Members
Carol Ross Barney
Michelle T. Boone
Carol Ross Barney, FAIA, HASLA, has been in the vanguard of civic space design since founding Ross Barney Architects in 1981. With a career that spans over 40 years, Carol has made significant contributions to the built environment, the profession, and architectural education. As an architect, urbanist, mentor, and educator, she has relentlessly advocated that excellent design is a right, not a privilege. Her body of work occupies a unique place within the panorama of contemporary architecture, being composed of work in the public realm.
Michelle T. Boone is President of The Poetry Foundation based in Chicago, Illinois. Appointed in May 2021, she is the first woman and first African American to lead the organization. The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine, is an independent literary organization committed to a vigorous presence for poetry in American culture.
Founder and Design Principal, Ross Barney Architects, FAIA, HASLA
Ross Barney’s projects vary in type and scale, but uphold a deep commitment to the role architecture plays in life quality. This has manifest itself in design of spaces that enrich the metropolitan experience; to buildings that are environmental stewards, showcasing sustainability in an overtly compelling way; to spaces that inspire young children and the brightest minds of tomorrow to learn, invent, and break boundaries. Carol’s work has been honored with over 200 major design awards, including twelve national American Institute of Architects Institute Honor Awards for Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Urban Planning and Design, over 40 AIA Chicago Awards, two AIA Committee on the Environment (COTE) Top Ten Project Awards, and the AIA Chicago Lifetime Achievement Award, the AIA Thomas Jefferson Award for Public Architecture and the AIA Illinois Gold Medal, all for a distinguished body of work.
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President, The Poetry Foundation
Previously, Boone was the Chief Program and Civic Engagement Officer at Navy Pier, an historic landmark and top cultural destination and attraction in the Midwest. In this role, Boone designed, developed, curated and presented Navy Pier’s arts and culture public programs, festivals and specials events, and was a member of the executive leadership team helping to shape organizational strategy and public engagement. In 2011, Michelle was appointed Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) by Mayor Rahm Emanuel. During her tenure, she led a team of more than 80 full-time employees to produce and present more than 2,000 public programs, large-scale festivals and special events annually; supervised the management of the historic Chicago Cultural Center; led the process for a new Chicago Cultural Plan (released in 2012); and launched the Chicago Architecture Biennial in 2015, the city’s first international exhibition of contemporary architecture and design.
2021 Chicago Prize, Jury Members
Philip Castillo
Peter D. Cook
Philip Castillo, FAIA, is an architect and Executive Vice President at JAHN, an international architectural firm with over 75 years of experience that has achieved critical recognition and won numerous awards. JAHN’s ability to integrate design creativity and corporate professionalism makes it a leading firm in global design Innovation. The firm has completed buildings on four continents encompassing a wide range of typologies and scales. JAHN’s commitment to design excellence and the improvement of the urban environment has been acknowledged worldwide. The firms projects are led from our office in Chicago along with support from the Berlin office.
Peter D. Cook is an architect based in Washington, D.C., where he is currently a design principal at HGA Architects & Engineers His previous work as an associate partner and design principal with Davis Brody Bond includes many prominent institutional projects in Washington, including the collaboration with Adjaye Associates, the Freelon Group, and SmithGroup for the design of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, as well as the Watha T. Daniel / Shaw Neighborhood Library, the East Gateway Pavilion at the St. Elizabeths campus and the renovation of the South African Embassy. His current work includes such project as the new D.C. Lamond-Riggs Neighborhood Library, Northern Virginia Science Center, and the Contemplative Site at Monticello in Charlottesville.
Executive Vice President, JAHN, FAIA
JAHN has a proven track record in the form of numerous built projects, where landmark architecture is successfully, if not spectacularly, incorporated within the framework of program, budget and schedule. The ability of JAHN to produce significant architectural statements on a consistent basis are given credence by the firm’s stature in the architectural and public press. Castillo joined JAHN in 1979 and has worked closely with Helmut Jahn. Notable projects while with JAHN include Restaon Station. 1301 Pennsylvania Avenue, Tokyo Station, Highlight Towers, Shanghai New International Expo Centre and Sony Center.
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Design Principal, HGA Architects & Engineers, AIA, NOMA
Cook is a member of the Washington, D.C., chapter of the American Institute of Architects and the National Organization of Minority Architects. His professional experience includes work as a designer with Skidmore Owings & Merrill, Rafael Viñoly Architects, and Gensler. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Visual and Environmental Studies from Harvard University and a Master of Architecture degree from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. He serves on the board of the Washington Architectural Foundation and as a Peer on the GSA’s Design Excellence Program. He served previously as the President of DCNOMA, Regional Vice President of NOMA as well as on the Mayors’ Institute on City Design. In June of 2021, Peter was appointed to the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts by President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
2021 Chicago Prize, Jury Members
Thomas Heatherwick
Mikyoung Kim
Thomas Heatherwick is a British designer whose prolific and varied work over two decades is characterised by its ingenuity, inventiveness and originality.
Mikyoung Kim, Founding Principal of Mikjoung Kim Design, is an award-winning international designer who brings innovative ideas to the urban landscape. She is known for culturally significant designs that serve as a powerful tool to celebrate the beauty of the collective human experience. Mikyoung’s diverse background in design and sculpture has shaped her body of work, blurring the boundaries between landscape architecture and environmental art. From children’s playgrounds to city parks and urban master plans, her work reflects a deep commitment to memorable place making that captures the public imagination. Her landscapes bring a richly layered civic experience to the public realm that engages the senses for a multigenerational audience.
Founder and Design Director, Heatherwick Studio
Defying the conventional classification of design disciplines, Thomas founded Heatherwick Studio in 1994 to bring the practices of design, architecture and urban planning together in a single workspace. Thomas leads the design of all Heatherwick Studio projects, working in collaboration with a team of highly-skilled architects, designers, and makers. Thomas’ unusual approach applies artistic thinking to the needs of each project, resulting in some of the most acclaimed designs of our time. Based in London, Heatherwick Studio is currently working on approximately 30 projects in ten countries. Following the Gold Award success of the UK Pavilion for the Shanghai World Expo in 2010, Heatherwick Studio has gone on to win exciting design briefs including 1000 Trees, a mixed-use development in Shanghai; and new headquarters for Google in Silicon Valley and London (in collaboration with BIG, currently under construction). The studio has recently completed Little Island, a park and performance space on the Hudson River and Vessel, a new public centrepiece for Hudson Yards, both in New York; the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in Cape Town, the first museum of its kind on the continent; and Coal Drops Yard, a major new retail district in King’s Cross, London.
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Founding Principal, Mikjoung Kim Design
As the founder and design director of Mikyoung Kim Design, she has crafted an exceptional body of work that has been highlighted in numerous publications, including the New York Times, the Washington Post, Landscape Architecture Magazine, Architectural Record, Dwell, Surface, Garden Design, and the Chicago Tribune. Mikyoung was named an AD innovator by Architectural Digest and recently received the ASLA National Design Medal. She is a fellow with the American Society of Landscape Architects and a recipient of the prestigious BSA’s Women in Design Award. Her work is featured in the Smithsonian Museum “American Voices” Collection. A frequent international speaker, Mikyoung has lectured at academic institutions, professional organizations, botanic gardens, museums, and art institutes. She has taught at the Harvard Graduate School of Design and is a Professor Emerita at the Rhode Island School of Design.
2021 Chicago Prize, Jury Members
Bonnie McDonald
President & CEO, Landmarks Illinois Bonnie McDonald aspires to shape preservation into a more relevant and just practice. As President and CEO of Landmarks Illinois, Bonnie advances the vision, mission and programs of Illinois’ only statewide preservation nonprofit organization. Her transformative thinking about preservation has led Landmarks Illinois to focus its work on people and their important connection to historic places. She’s currently spearheading the organization’s evolution at its 50-year anniversary to enhance its relevancy and to create a national model for justice, equity, inclusion and diversity in preservation practice. Bonnie is a collaborative leader and together with her board, team and volunteers, they’ve nearly doubled Landmarks Illinois’ staff, opened its first regional office, passed vital state legislation and played a visible role as thought leaders during her eight years as president. In November 2018, Bonnie was elected board chair of the National Preservation Partners Network, the national nonprofit representing preservation organizations, and is proud to have been awarded the James Marston Fitch Charitable Foundation MidCareer Fellowship in 2020. In August 2020, she was appointed as a co-chair of the City of Chicago’s Monuments and Memorials Committee reckoning with the city’s problematic artworks. Bonnie received a Bachelor’s Degree in Art History (Summa Cum Laude) from the University of Minnesota and a Master’s Degree in Historic Preservation Planning from Cornell University.
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