JAMES R. THOMPSON CENTER
CHICAGO PRIZE 2021
CHICAGO ARCHITECTURAL CLUB CHICAGO ARCHITECTURE CENTER
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COMMITTEE’S RECOGNITION
LESS TRON MORE WATERWORLD Reimagining the James R. Thompson Center to embrace a future of limited resources survived by seams, readymades and additions. 1. Restore and Preserve the Atrium by celebrating its inherent value. Contemporary office tenants are looking for large, connected floor plates and authenticity. The Old Post Office and Merchandise Mart are dark and gargantuan. Fulton Market is running out of salvaged brick boxes and sprouting tacky glass ones. Jahn’s atrium provides large plates, ample daylight and a genuine design expression of the worldview that conceived it. 2. Connect the Floor Plates with south-facing bridges to mitigate excessive solar radiation in the summer and improve horizontal collaboration. 3. Remove the Greenhouses. Make New Ruins by repurposing the red trusses from the mini-atria on the south facade as an immersive gateway in the plaza below. Move “Snoopy in a Blender” to the roof for neighboring towers to enjoy. 4. Green the Terraces and Plaza as a counterpoint to the brooding granite expanse of Daley Plaza. Flattening the exterior mini-atria creates 38,000 square feet of planted amenity terraces. 5. Break Down the Massing with continuous inset balconies to reemphasize the original, five-story horizontal bundles. 6. Engage the Humans with scaled, convex storefronts clad in blue terrazzo panels containing crushed glass from the cherished original spandrels. 7. Build on Top with a timber tower that adds value and is lighter than steel or concrete for less extensive structural reinforcement through existing plates below.
Entry as submitted by: Michael Charters
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(UNTITLED) There is different approach to deal with issues which we are faced, we can categorize them to three different main group : Changing, Removing and Attaching. Between these three options, attaching can provide minimum Intervention with renovation existing building. Also attaching approach should consider in a way that helps building to become more public and more attractive, it also must works with existing building with minimum damaged, not only physically but also conceptually. The suspension is exciting, and Helmut John was aware of it when he drawn the atrium, stairs are flying there, and it was much more effective 3 decades ago. On the other hand beauty is happening inside the building, and it is not obvious from outside, In the other word, the strongest factor is covered by a glassed surface and it caused missing The James R. Thompson Center between high-rise buildings in context. This project try to bring beauty to the outside with same language as inside, it placed in the plaza where artwork was placed before, and this special location for art should remain as before and the form of the project is trying give answer to this desire. It is open, inviting, and attractive. Nine floors gallery with a restaurant in three floors above will be a meeting place, and the pedestrian bridge connects two buildings from the top together. Personnel who will work again in offices of The James R. Thompson Center can take fresh air in the roof and drink cafe through the bridge.
Entry as submitted by: Hamidreza Esmailnazari
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THOMPSON TERRACES Helmut Jahn’s State of Illinois building is an iconic work that combines post-modernity with civic engagement; however, its environmental systems pose a grave threat to its legacy. Our proposal rethinks the skin of the building and adds public green terraces to provide a positive environmental and civic impact to downtown Chicago, while also rejuvenating the interior spaces. The green terraces add a soft organic edge to the existing geometric façade. This vertical park provides educational hubs for the original plant and wildlife in the Chicago region. Removing portions of the glazing allows natural ventilation into the now outdoor atrium. The new interior boundary of the terrace is defined by an insulated green wall, further enhancing the vertical garden. The conditioned spaces are repurposed for mixed-uses with new insulated glazing looking into the atrium. On the north and west façade the existing glazing is replaced with tinted double pane insulated glass. By removing the volumetric space of the atrium from the remaining building we reduce the stress on the mechanical systems, improving operating costs and allowing the occupants more control over their interior environment. The Thompson Terraces could provide a positive environmental impact to a historically inefficient architectural marvel, posing as a solution for adaptive reuse and preservation.
Entry as submitted by: Danny Matchett, Julian Gonzalez ,Jacob McLaughlin, James Lindsay, David O’Donoghue
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COMMITTEE’S RECOGNITION
INCUBATOR -
A CONTAINER OF URBAN LIFE THOMPSON CENTER IS A LANDMARK, ITS POTENTIAL FOR ADAPTIVE RE-USE AND REPURPOSE WILL SEND A MESSAGE TO THE WORLD THAT CHICAGO HAS A LONG-TERM VISION FOR THE FUTURE OF THE CITY. IN WHICH RECYCLING RELIES ON IMAGINATION NOT WASTE. PRESERVATION IS A CONSCIOUSNESS AND RESPONSIBLE APPROACH TO THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT. CHICAGO HAS BEEN ACKNOWLEDGED AS AN INNOVATIVE PLACE FOR ARCHITECTURE, THE INCUBATOR REPRESENTS THAT IDEAL TO ACHIEVE A ZERO CARBON GOAL FOR 2050, BY ADDING VALUE TO THE EXISTING INSTEAD OF REPLACING IT. THAT CHALLENGE ALONE, PROVIDES FERTILE GROUND FOR INNOVATIVE THINKING. OUR PROPOSAL IS BASED ON 6 GUIDING PRINCIPLES: 1. RE-INSERTION IN THE URBAN FABRIC • TO MAKE THE BUILDING MORE OPEN, ACCESSIBLE, DEMOCRATIC AND TRANSPARENT. ALLOWING A SEAMLESS CONNECTION WITH ITS SURROUNDINGS. 2. ADAPTIVE REUSE STRATEGIES, • OUR ZERO CARBON STRATEGY BEGINS WITH REUSING THE BUILDING STRUCTURE, FACADES, AS WELL AS REPURPOSING OF ALL PUBLIC AND PRIVATE USES. 3. DEVELOPING NEW DENSITY, • A NEW TOWER ON THE NORTH-WEST CORNER OF THE SITE WILL CREATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR NEW DEVELOPMENT, ENRICHING THE INCUBATOR’S VALUE WHILE CREATING A DIVERSE EXPERIENCE. 4. NEW PROGRAM REFLECTIVE OF THE FUTURE NEEDS OF URBAN LIFE • ELEVATING THE CONCEPT OF THE BUILDING INTO A ‘SYSTEM’ THAT CONTAINS: 1 TRANSPORTATION 2 EDUCATION 3 RESEARCH 4 COLLABORATION 5 WORK + LIVE E 6 LEISURE + ENTERTAINMENT 7 CULTURAL SPACES 8 ENERGY + ICE STORAGE 9 EXTENDED RENTALS 10 AFFORDABLE HOUSING 11 RESIDENCES 12 URBAN FARMING 13 SHOPS, RESTAURANTS AND OBSERVATORY 5. RETROFITTING BY ADDING SYSTEMS TO INCREASE BUILDING PERFORMANCE 6. AN INTEGRATED HOLISTIC APPROACH TO WELLNESS AND CARBON ZERO
Entry as submitted by: Francisco Gonzalez Pulido, Tom Willoughby
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THOMPSON INNOVATION CENTER Thompson Innovation Center aims to be the epicenter of culture and technology that unifies the whole city and gravitates the resources back towards downtown Loop region. The mega building’s primary focuses are to provide transparency between government and its citizens, showcase Chicago history and cultures, and incubate hi-tech skill set and creativity. In order to unify the citizens with its government, the public observation corridor serves as a bridge that overlooks all the other surrounding government buildings such as the Supreme Court, Daley Center and Chicago City Hall, Cook County Office. This key feature promotes the administration transparency and softens the barrier of the government officials. The new addition on top of the existing Thompson Center is a city museum that raises awareness on race and ethnicity issues as well as Chicago history. By opening up the atrium and ground level, the block will have a friendly outdoor urban plaza that is accessible to the public that promotes gathering and activities, which also improves the existing air conditioning issues. The newly glazed interior would be the collaboration hub featuring flexible coworking spaces and skill sharing conference rooms. The existing exterior façades are replaced with energy efficient curtain walls with winter garden on the outer premises of the collaboration hub that improves energy performance as well as the working environment.
Entry as submitted by: Nico Hsu, Thang Nguyen
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A CELEBRATION OF PUBLIC SPACE “This was a building that sought to open itself up to create a more interactive relationship between the people and their government” – Architecture Critic Blair Kamin remarked in the opening lines of Starship Chicago, a documentary by Nathan Eddy. Thompson Center is the only covered space in Chicago that is open to public for protest without permit. No matter the season or the cause, time and again people were able to gather in the red, white and blue atrium of the building to embody the spirit of the First Amendment. Even while in a state of disrepair people continue to gather in the Atrium to advocate for their beliefs. This project seeks to amplify that atrium through Chicago. On one side of the Thompson Center atrium are governmental offices on the other side is a vertical public park connecting to a pedestrian bridge on Clark street. The street is home to major governmental buildings and connects to the other two places in the city where the public is allowed to gather without permit - The Daley Plaza and The Federal Plaza. The extension of the atrium is meant to democratize the space above Clark street, while being visible to the government offices on the street. The effect is that of the colors of the American flag running through the street culminating in a “celebration of (public) space.”
Entry as submitted by: Ruchi Dattani
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A NEW PARTNER IN DIALOGUE This project proposes building a new volume bound by W Randolph St to the south and N Clark St to the east that complements the James R. Thompson Center. The new volume, which derives much of its geometry from the façade and roof planes of the existing building, intersects the existing building at the lower levels but begins to pull away from it as it soars in height. This proposal maintains the most iconic parts of the James R. Thompson Center while increasing the building’s density and attempting to reduce the associated maintenance costs, the oft-cited reason for the building’s planned demolition and replacement. The building’s atrium, arguably its most distinctive and beloved feature, remains and can now be enjoyed from a multitude of additional vantage points. Under this new proposal, however, while the roof continues to provide protection from the elements, the atrium becomes an unconditioned space in an effort to reduce heating and cooling loads in the building. The proposal added office space, which overhangs – but does not replace – the existing pedestrian plaza at the SE corner of the block, creates a complementary building volume on the site. The proposed floorplates connect with existing floorplates to take advantage of existing circulation and they are encompassed by a south-facing ventilated double-skin façade that improves the building’s environmental performance and creates intimate winter gardens on Floors 10-15.
Entry as submitted by: Palmyra Geraki
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