Featured Environment
Redefining the role of the river and lake in Chicago
CHICAGO: VISION FOR THE FUTURE Featured Environment
IIT Institute of Design • Systems Workshop Fall 2008 • M. Cirakoglu A. McKown J. Morgenstern D. Sun M. Swift
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Featured Environment
CHICAGO: VISION FOR THE FUTURE Featured Environment
“The people of Chicago have ceased to be impressed by rapid growth or the great size of the city. What they insist on asking now is, How are we living?” - Daniel Burnham
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Featured Environment :: Principles
The principles behind the Featured Environment vision
CHICAGO: VISION FOR THE FUTURE Featured Environment
Vitalize urban life Unify elements of the city Celebrate natural and human values
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System Elements
CHICAGO: VISION FOR THE FUTURE Featured Environment
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RiverHaven 01
RiverWalk
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Islands
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Canals
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RiverWalk :: Zoning
CHICAGO: VISION FOR THE FUTURE Featured Environment
Zones divide the RiverWalk into four distinct experiences
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04 03 02 01
Turning Basin
Arcade District
Civic District
Market District
RiverWalk • Canals • Islands • RiverHaven
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RiverWalk :: Turning Basin Gateway to the RiverWalk
CHICAGO: VISION FOR THE FUTURE Featured Environment
• Sits at convergence point of the North, South, and Downtown branches of the river • Offers spectacular views of the river skyline • Symbolizes entrance to river and lake system • Offers significant focal point on the river
RiverWalk • Canals • Islands • RiverHaven
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RiverWalk :: Lookout Point The focal point of the RiverWalk
CHICAGO: VISION FOR THE FUTURE Featured Environment
• Lookout Point reclaims undeveloped, under utilized land • Celebrates convergence of three river branches • Offers stunning views of the skyline, river branches, and downtown river walk • Incorporates park land into downtown area • Establishes focal point at entrance to RiverWalk • Commemorates Chicago’s 2016 Olympic bid
RiverWalk • Canals • Islands • RiverHaven
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RiverWalk :: Lookout Point The focal point of the RiverWalk
CHICAGO: VISION FOR THE FUTURE Featured Environment
RiverWalk • Canals • Islands • RiverHaven
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RiverWalk :: Arcade District The cultural stream of the RiverWalk
CHICAGO: VISION FOR THE FUTURE Featured Environment
• Expanded walkways create continuous path along river and under bridges • Accommodates greater pedestrian use • Offers gallery and retail attractions • Adaptable architecture and barges offer great flexibility in narrow river footprint • Revitalizes downtown river stretch
RiverWalk • Canals • Islands • RiverHaven
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RiverWalk :: Koolhaalf Tube
Minimizing noise to maximize RiverWalk enjoyment • Current bridge and traffic noise preclude opportunities for respite and leisure on the river walk below
CHICAGO: VISION FOR THE FUTURE Featured Environment 9 downtown bridges
• Tubes dampen bridge sounds and utilize noise cancelling technology to mask unwanted environmental noise • Semi-circular form blocks sound without obstructing views from bridge • Fuses Chicago historical and modern bridge architecture
Image courtesy Creative Commons
RiverWalk • Canals • Islands • RiverHaven
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RiverWalk :: Mobi-Mods
Adaptable floating architecture for river amenities
CHICAGO: VISION FOR THE FUTURE Featured Environment
• Mobile and modular architecture offers flexible space for cafés, restaurants, light retail, and entertainment • Barges transport MobiMods to different river locations • Maximizes usable river space by while preserving valuable land
RiverWalk • Canals • Islands • RiverHaven
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RiverWalk :: Market District
The potential for a new downtown destination
CHICAGO: VISION FOR THE FUTURE Featured Environment
• Market District offers great nature and greenery in the heart of downtown • Can accommodate multilevel architecture • Rests at the intersection of downtown, the river, and the lake • Potential for a new downtown destination
RiverWalk • Canals • Islands • RiverHaven
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RiverWalk :: Market District
A new downtown destination for work and play
CHICAGO: VISION FOR THE FUTURE Featured Environment
• Adaptable MobiMods reconfigure to offer greater space for providers • Accommodates recreation, leisure, dining and personal work spaces • Multi-level configurations afford personal space and shade • Minimizes harmful impact caused by fullscale development and preserves natural setting
RiverWalk • Canals • Islands • RiverHaven
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System Elements
CHICAGO: VISION FOR THE FUTURE Featured Environment
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Canals
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Canals
Extending the river experience
CHICAGO: VISION FOR THE FUTURE Featured Environment
• Extends the reach of the Chicago River • Increases Chicagoans exposure to water • Reinforces the character of the city
RiverWalk • Canals • Islands • RiverHaven
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Canals
Extending the river experience
CHICAGO: VISION FOR THE FUTURE Featured Environment
• Extends the reach of the Chicago River • Increases Chicagoans exposure to water • Reinforces the character of the city
RiverWalk • Canals • Islands • RiverHaven
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Canals :: Brooks
An intimate canal experience
CHICAGO: VISION FOR THE FUTURE Featured Environment
• Enables visitors to engage more closely with water • Creates park space on banks • Provides more personal experience with the water
RiverWalk • Canals • Islands • RiverHaven
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Canals :: Brooks
An intimate canal experience
CHICAGO: VISION FOR THE FUTURE Featured Environment
• Allows for easy manipulation of water characteristics • Transforms characteristics 0f water through flow diversion and slight elevation changes • Engages the senses more actively
RiverWalk • Canals • Islands • RiverHaven
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Canals :: Watercourses Utility and recreation
CHICAGO: VISION FOR THE FUTURE Featured Environment
• Acts as extension of Chicago river for boat traffic • Allows for scenic boat loop • Manages diverted storm water from surrounding streets and buildings
RiverWalk • Canals • Islands • RiverHaven
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Canals :: Watercourses Utility and recreation
CHICAGO: VISION FOR THE FUTURE Featured Environment
• Provides space for kayaking, canoeing, and touring the city • Enables year round use by accommodating ice skating or cross-country skiing
RiverWalk • Canals • Islands • RiverHaven 20
System Elements
CHICAGO: VISION FOR THE FUTURE Featured Environment
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Islands
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Islands
Balancing urban development with natural development
CHICAGO: VISION FOR THE FUTURE Featured Environment
RiverWalk • Canals • Islands • RiverHaven 22
Islands
CHICAGO: VISION FOR THE FUTURE Featured Environment
Guiding questions
How can we
transform urban areas
RiverWalk • Canals • Islands • RiverHaven 23
Islands
CHICAGO: VISION FOR THE FUTURE Featured Environment
Guiding questions
How can we
transform urban areas How can we
create new areas
RiverWalk • Canals • Islands • RiverHaven 24
Islands :: Burnham Island
Burnham Island provides ample recreational area near downtown
CHICAGO: VISION FOR THE FUTURE Featured Environment
• Burnham Island situated in close proximity to downtown area • Water-taxis and ferry boats provide easy access • Creates approximately 1 square-mile of new land • Utilizes land displaced from city projects such as Deep Tunnel
RiverWalk • Canals • Islands • RiverHaven 25
Islands :: Burnham Island
CHICAGO: VISION FOR THE FUTURE Featured Environment
Several features make the island an attractive destination
Park
Restaurants
Beach
Festival area Levelator Pier
Observation Tower Integrated Museum
RiverWalk • Canals • Islands • RiverHaven 26
Islands :: Burnham Island
Pier and Museum provide transition between city and nature
CHICAGO: VISION FOR THE FUTURE Featured Environment
• Restaurants on Levelator Pier provide the best view of Chicago • Underwater museum galleries enable visitors to explore life and treasures in the lake
RiverWalk • Canals • Islands • RiverHaven 27
Islands :: Burnham Island
Beaches offer refreshment and isolation from the city
CHICAGO: VISION FOR THE FUTURE Featured Environment
• Newly created beaches provide refreshment to the growing population in an increasingly hot climate
There were cool Levelator Pier images in the first presentation. I can’t find them. Let’s put them here.
RiverWalk • Canals • Islands • RiverHaven 28
Islands :: Burnham Island
Natural zones create full immersion with the environment
CHICAGO: VISION FOR THE FUTURE Featured Environment
• Northern part of the island serves as a recreational park • Certain areas support both winter and summer activities There were cool Levelator Pier images in the first presentation. I can’t find them. Let’s put them here.
RiverWalk • Canals • Islands • RiverHaven 29
Islands :: Beaches
Small islands provide additional beach areas
CHICAGO: VISION FOR THE FUTURE Featured Environment
• Additional beaches create a new coastline • Expanded beach areas accommodate more people and provide a better beach experience
RiverWalk • Canals • Islands • RiverHaven 30
Islands :: Beaches
Wave breakers and sand bars combine functionality with relaxation • Wave breakers protect beach islands from erosion caused by water currents and waves
CHICAGO: VISION FOR THE FUTURE Featured Environment Wavebreaker
• Sandbars connect wave breakers, islands, and mainland • Sandbars encourage interaction with water Sand Bar
RiverWalk • Canals • Islands • RiverHaven
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System Elements
CHICAGO: VISION FOR THE FUTURE Featured Environment
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RiverHaven
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RiverHaven
People won’t have to leave the city to escape it. • Many Chicagoans travel over 5 hours to Door County to escape the city
DOOR COUNTY
CHICAGO: VISION FOR THE FUTURE Featured Environment
Chicago RiverHavens
• RiverHavens allow for an escape from the city within the city • “A region that is better designed for its residents will also have a stronger economy” - Metropolis Plan 2020
Images: google maps
Chicago RiverWalk • Canals • Islands • RiverHaven 33
RiverHaven
Art is reflected best in an environment that is designed for it
CHICAGO: VISION FOR THE FUTURE Featured Environment
• Designed to fit the specific location (Chicago’s South Lagoon is a great option) • Offers a focused experience with nature
Photo: Amanda McKown
RiverWalk • Canals • Islands • RiverHaven 34
RiverHaven
CHICAGO: VISION FOR THE FUTURE Featured Environment
Complete immersion in nature provides respite • Replaces high rises with vertical gardens, living bridges and large trees as the statuesque elements in the skyline • Shifts the point of view of Chicago to include nature as a primary feature
Living bridges Large trees Vertical gardens
Photo: Amanda McKown
RiverWalk • Canals • Islands • RiverHaven 35
RiverHaven :: Terraced land
Undefined open space celebrates human values
CHICAGO: VISION FOR THE FUTURE Featured Environment
• Creates natural boundaries for multiple activities • Allows for customization • Celebrates the hobbies and interests of residents through series of outdoor classes • Offers a low maintenance alternative to grass turf through use of clover
Images: James Corner for Toronto Riverfront Flickr: Taoist Tai Chi Belgium http://www.wikihow.com/Grow-a-Clover-Lawn
RiverWalk • Canals • Islands • RiverHaven 36
RiverHaven :: Scalloped pavement
Scalloped pavement makes the river more approachable
CHICAGO: VISION FOR THE FUTURE Featured Environment
• Eases interaction with river • Expands the riverbed • Serves as protection against flooding
Images: James Corner for Toronto flickr: david collins flickr: jiformales
RiverWalk • Canals • Islands • RiverHaven 37
RiverHaven :: Natural jungle gym
Natural jungle gyms encourage youth engagement with nature
CHICAGO: VISION FOR THE FUTURE Featured Environment
• Celebrates play through low hanging branches and sturdy vines • Offers a place for families, creating a natural zoning in the RiverHaven
Images: flickr: saraide flickr: megyn.ohara flickr: julius.hibbert vine
RiverWalk • Canals • Islands • RiverHaven 38
RiverHaven :: Living bridge
Living Bridges encourage interaction through exploration
CHICAGO: VISION FOR THE FUTURE Featured Environment
• Offers views by leveraging height of bridges • Increases access to both sides of the river • Extends park space • Celebrates human desire to explore
Photo: Amanda McKown Wood: www.buzon.ae/html/the_pedestals.html Bridge: Flickr: thingermejig
RiverWalk • Canals • Islands • RiverHaven 39
RiverHaven :: Framed entrance
Archway reinforces the haven as a destination space
CHICAGO: VISION FOR THE FUTURE Featured Environment
• Acts as a landmark to provide navigational support and signal arrival • Signifies a transition between environments • Enables the system to frame views of the RiverHaven
Images: West8 for Budapest Danube Waterfront Jim Colyer http://is.gd/ajkW flickr: seier+seier+seier
RiverWalk • Canals • Islands • RiverHaven 40
Featured environment :: The river and lake
Building a more complete relationship between the city and nature • RiverWalk and Canals create permeable boundaries to encourage people to easily pass between the city and nature • Islands and RiverHavens create more rigid boundaries to offer views from a distance of the city and immersive natural experiences
CHICAGO: VISION FOR THE FUTURE Featured Environment city nature
Coexistence of city and nature
RiverWalk
Canals
Distinct city and nature experiences
RiverHavens
Islands
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Featured Environment :: System Roll-out
CHICAGO: VISION FOR THE FUTURE Featured Environment
The system will be implemented in three phases
RiverWalk
expansion of river walk improve the quality of the river water
develop cultural attractions
begin road demolition for canals
Canals
increase landscaping and greening
build canals
reclaim land for islands
Islands
enhance landscaping and waterscaping
commence island formation
build infrastructural support for recreation
establish natural ecosystems build out south lagoon RiverHavens
improve the quality of the river water
zone for future RiverHavens
reclaim and develop new RiverHavens
continue evolution of sculptural landscape
Phase I:
Phase II:
Phase III:
Enhancing current natural assets
Creating new natural assets
Fully featuring natural assets
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