Chicago River Design Guidelines Update

The Chicago River Design Guidelines adopted in January 2019 outline the goals, expectations, and requirements for development along the Chicago River and its branches within the city limits. Appropriately developed, the river corridor will continue to provide additional open space and recreational opportunities, increase property values, promote economic vitality, increase environmental awareness, and enhance Chicago’s attractiveness as a tourist destination.

Appropriately developed, the river corridor will continue to provide additional open space and recreational opportunities, increase property values, promote economic vitality, increase environmental awareness, and enhance Chicago’s attractiveness as a tourist destination.

The guidelines encourage new developments to embrace the river and activate the frontage along the river. The guidelines outline requirements for all developments, including a 30-foot minimum setback from the river, public access points, and a multiuse path. In addition to upland requirements, the document outlines riverbank, river edge, sloped bank, and vertical bulkhead treatments so each piece of the river’s edge can be addressed and improved during the riverfront development process. Guidelines for improvements outside the required setback and transitions between developments encourage a holistic and comprehensive approach.

City Haven

Hollander Design Landscape Architects

HONOR AWARD TEAM

Hollander Design Landscape Architects

Ashe Leandro

CATEGORY Residential Design

City Haven is the ultimate place of respite and recharge, floating high above city noise while reconnecting its visitors with verdant abundance.

Hollander Design’s aesthetic restraint, naturalistic planting palette, and subtle textures create a relaxed yet luxurious experience.

City Haven is the ultimate place of respite and recharge, floating high above city noise while reconnecting its visitors with verdant abundance.

This generous rooftop on a converted industrial building features coveted views to the water and an elevation that muffles the din of the surrounding city. The landscape design divides the 3000-square-foot space into six distinct outdoor rooms, including a generous living room with fire table, spa room with daybed, kitchen with pizza oven, dining area, and secluded private terrace.

Comer Children’s Hospital Play Garden

Play opportunities exist in many forms beyond just physical. Elements of music, nature, and art are found within an eccentric garden that was inspired by Dr. Seuss’ creative stories and imagery.

In 2016, the University of Chicago Comer Children’s Hospital sought to bring new life to a 5,000-squarefoot existing outdoor playground. The redesigned play garden opened in 2018 and now provides a safe, inclusive, and imaginative place of refuge and healing for hospital patients and their families.

Play opportunities exist in many forms beyond just physical. Elements of music, nature, and art are found within an eccentric garden that was inspired by Dr. Seuss’ creative stories and imagery. The garden was carefully designed to immerse children of all physical abilities, including those in hospital beds, wheelchairs, and IV carts. Those with limited mobility can explore nearly every part of the play garden through accessible pathways and play features. The garden provides unique and creative play experiences, including those that focus on building cognition, social and environmental development, gross motor skills, speech and language, and fine motor skills. Various shapes, sizes, textures, and out-of-the-ordinary plants and flowers help make this a colorful, vibrant, and altogether unique space for patients and their families.

Fountain Square Renovations

TESKA ASSOCIATES, INC.

Since 1876, Fountain Square Plaza has been recognized as the City’s historic and cultural center-place. When funds were earmarked to address infrastructure improvements and a plaza redesign, City leaders turned to their community for inspiration.

Teska Associates, Inc.

Christopher B. Burke Engineering, Ltd.

The Waterworx Company

Copenhaver Construction

Evanstonians care deeply for their community and the spaces that bring them together. Since 1876, Fountain Square Plaza has been recognized as the City’s historic and cultural center-place. When funds were earmarked to address infrastructure improvements and a plaza redesign, City leaders turned to their community for inspiration. Residents, businesses, and stakeholders came together to reimagine their muchloved space.

The outcome is a contemporary design celebrating their voice and vision through flexible outdoor spaces. Interactive fountains and lighting provide an ever-changing space for play. Colorful bistro tables and Adirondack chairs serve up moments of leisure and connection. A glass Veterans memorial honors Evanston’s fallen heroes, and year-round programming including live concerts, festivals, and events activate the space day and night. Since its opening, Evanston’s Fountain Square has become the go-to place and talk about town — a communitycreated canvas that embraces people, possibilities, and the power of cohesion.

Holland Energy Park

Built on once blighted and contaminated land, it puts natural systems on display while welcoming visitors to use the outdoor amenities, learn about the inner workings of this state-of-the-art power-generation facility, and connect to nearby community attractions.

Holland Energy Park is a unique hybrid: a power plant and a public space. The design team thoughtfully integrated this unique programmatic pairing into a facility that highlights multiple layers of sustainability. Built on once blighted and contaminated land, it puts natural systems on display while welcoming visitors to use the outdoor amenities, learn about the inner workings of this state-of-the-art power-generation facility, and connect to nearby community attractions.

In the words of David Koster from the Holland Board of Public Works, “It’s Holland Energy Park for a reason.” Bordered by 15 acres of scenic wetlands, the facility serves as a community park. The design team also brought together exterior spaces and bioswales at the visitor arrival sequence. The facility’s entrance is framed with plazas, using custom seating and simple pavement patterning to create rhythm along the front of the facility, while putting the living systems on display.

Paine Art Center Formal Gardens

HONOR AWARD

TEAM

Hoerr Schaudt Landscape Architects

Vinci Hamp

Findorff Construction Coordinator

CATEGORY

General Design, Constructed

LOCATION

Oshkosh, Wisconsin

CLIENT

Aaron Sherer, Executive Director of Paine Art Center and Gardens

COMPLETION YEAR 2017

As part of their 2010 master plan, the Paine Art Center and Gardens envisioned a new outdoor space that would expand museum programming while creating a unique, regional destination for Central Wisconsin. This vision took shape as the Formal Garden, a classically designed outdoor room that utilizes regional, four-season planting to create an artistic and educational gathering space for the entire year.

Hoerr Schaudt’s design for the garden was intended to serve as an extension of the historic museum built in the 1920s in the style of an English country estate. Organized along a central axis, the garden’s central lawn is flanked by a four-season border garden that acts as gallery wall with a rotating exhibition of flora, providing seasonal interest throughout the year. The entire space is framed by custom-built pergolas and bookended by classical fountains that further articulate the formality of the garden.

Special Olympics Eternal Flame of Hope

SMITHGROUP

HONOR AWARD

TEAM

SmithGroup

James McHugh Construction Co.

Schaefges Brothers, Inc.

ASL Stone/Architectural Specialties, Ltd.

Christy Webber Landscapes

Richard Hunt (Sculptor)

Brian E. Monaghan / Central Sculpture Works LLC

Brian Swersky / Gasman Services & Consulting LLC

CATEGORY

General Design, Constructed LOCATION

Chicago, Illinois CLIENT Staunton, Inc./Arena Partners on behalf of Special Olympics Illinois, Special Olympics International, Special Children’s Charities and the Chicago Park District

COMPLETION YEAR 2018

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first Special Olympics Games at Soldier Field in 2018, Special Olympics partnered with the Chicago Park District to develop a high-profile site on Chicago’s historic Museum Campus, adjacent to Soldier Field, as a public plaza to become the home of the Eternal Flame of Hope.

SmithGroup has long valued being a part of the local community and jumped at the opportunity to work on an endeavor that would touch local citizens as well as Special Olympics athletes and supporters across the globe. Renowned sculptor Richard Hunt’s monument and the surrounding space are reflective and inspirational, offering visitors feelings of courage, love, determination, and respect. The Eternal Flame of Hope is a powerful and meaningful symbol for Special Olympics athletes around the world and is the physical flame from which the Special Olympics torch is lit for events across the United States.

Renowned sculptor Richard Hunt’s monument and the surrounding space are reflective and inspirational, offering visitors feelings of courage, love, determination, and respect.