THE CHICAGO
RIVERWALK
5.20.2011
10% DESIGN REPORT
VOLUME 1: ANALYSIS AND CONCEPT DESIGN SUMMARY
Client Chicago Department of Transportation Design Team Sasaki Associates Ross Barney Architects Alfred Benesch&Co. Infrastructure Engineering Rubinos&Mesia Delta Engineering Jacobs/Ryan Schuler Shook Conservation Design Forum Moffatt&Nichol Dynasty Group GeoServices David Solzman produced 5.20.2011
The CHICAGO RIVERWALK 10% Design Report Volume 1: Analysis and Concept Design Summary RIVERWALK HISTORY
4
IMPLEMENTED SEGMENTS/SUCCESS
6
SCOPE AND SCHEDULE
10
REVIEW OF PREVIOUS STUDIES
12
SUMMARY OF OPPORTUNITIES
14
THE RIVER IN THE CITY
16
THE LIFE OF THE RIVER
18
EXISTING CONDITIONS AND CHALLENGES
20
PROJECT GOAL: CONNECTING CITY AND RIVER
22
THE RIVERWALK PLAN
24
CONNECTIONS, SYSTEMS AND FEATURES
26
RIVERWALK HISTORY 4
The Chicago River is a part of a system that includes the River’s North Branch, South Branch, and Main Stem, as well as 52 miles of constructed waterways: the North Shore Channel, the Sanitary and Ship Canal, and the Calumet Sag Channel. The River system has played a central role in the history of Chicago and is a renowned example of the inextricable link between nature, natural resources, and urban development. In 1790, Jean Baptiste duSable, the founding father of Chicago, originally settled on the north branch of the Chicago River at Michigan Avenue and Fort Dearborn was built in 1803 on the south bank. In the 1920’s, Daniel Burnham’s 1909 Plan of Chicago inspired a transformation of the Main Branch resulting in a Beaux-Arts esplanade along Wacker Drive. The 1926 Wacker Drive project replaced Water Street, a gritty, working waterfront where merchants traded goods unloaded from docks along the River’s edge, with a twotiered road system, creating the early stages of a civic edge along the Chicago River. This plan represented a confident and proud design approach that ensured a safe distance between the River and the higher and drier City fabric. In recent decades, the entire river system has steadily gained a vocal collective of advocates, all looking to reconnect the daily experience of the City with the dynamic and changing life of the River. New layers of urban recreation and a growing interest in the ecological dimensions of the waterway began to change the perception of the River, and increase its appreciation as a valuable natural resource. From this new viewpoint emerged the Riverwalk concept – Chicago’s “second shoreline” – a continuous public walkway lined with public amenities, commercial opportunities, and physical access to the River. With the East-West Wacker Drive reconstruction in 2001, the Chicago Department of Transportation began discussions to reconfigure the roadway to allow for construction of a publicly accessible area for Chicago’s residents, workers and visitors to enjoy nature in the heart of the Central Business District. Negotiations began to determine an acceptable build-out distance from the existing dockwall to allow for a continuous public walkway. Participation included many organizations, such as other government agencies like the United States Coast Guard, Army Corps of Engineers, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago; economic stake holders like the commercial tour boats, and Illinois River Carrier Association; and, interest organizations like the Friends of the Chicago River. Congress approved a build-out distance of 20’ under each bridge, 25’ between the bridges from Michigan Avenue to Franklin Street, and 50’ between Franklin Street and Lake Street. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial at Wabash Plaza was dedicated on Veterans Day in 2005, and in 2009 the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) began construction of the underbridge walkways at Michigan Avenue and Wabash Avenue. Mayor Daley established the Riverwalk Development Committee comprised of stakeholders and civic leaders interested in the development of Chicago’s Second shore. Four sub-committees were established to explore key elements in this new infrastructure - vision, resource development, programming, events, and management - and how it could best benefit the City of Chicago.
5
IMPLEMENTED SEGMENTS/SUCCESS 6
Recent changes in demographics have transformed the Main Branch of the Chicago River into a significant recreation and tourist destination, full of activity including boat tours, water taxi service, riverside dining, a memorial, and a museum. The new Riverwalk reconciles the vibrant, naturalistic landscape of the lakefront trails and parks with the more formal context of Wacker Drive’s Beaux Arts architecture. By passing under the bridges of the Main Branch, the Riverwalk offers pedestrians a continuous experience of Chicago’s riverfront and architecture from a unique vantage point along the south edge of the River. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial at Wabash Plaza is a focal point and green refuge along the downtown riverfront. Reclaimed by the rebuilding and relocation of Wacker Drive, the plaza creates an urban park, with terraces and bench-lined ramps that gently transition from busy city streets to quiet spaces near the River. The Chicago Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fountain is both educational and symbolic. A wall of water cuts into the limestone wall along Wacker Drive then spills into a pool that harmonizes with the upper plaza’s fountain. A timeline of significant events during the war lines the sides of the pool. The names of Illinois soldiers who died during the war parallel the timeline, linking each name with a moment in history. The Chicago Department of Transportation’s goal is to develop the Riverwalk as a premier public space and continuous system. With its blend of sustainable landscaping, long-lasting materials, and civic forms such as terraces and wide paved areas, the new Chicago Main Branch Riverwalk sets a precedent for the development of other open spaces along the riverfront as a place rich in activity and as an expression of Chicago’s progressive growth.
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IMPLEMENTED SEGMENTS/SUCCESS 8
9
SCOPE & SCHEDULE 10
The task at hand is to complete the vision and realize the continuous public realm from the edge of the Chicago River’s Main Branch all the way to the confluence with the North and South Branches. This document is a summary of a four-month process to review previous studies, establish structural system potentials, conduct a holistic site analysis, launch a comprehensive River Traffic Study and provide an overall Vision, developed to the 10% Design level, for the remaining segments of this system – from the State Street underbridge connection to Lake Street. The intent is to use this framework to garner feedback, incorporate suggestions, and move into detailed design and documentation for the first three segments. The Riverwalk will conclude, in this next phase of construction, with an accessible route (via ramps) to the walkway at Upper Wacker. Detailed design will be completed by the end of 2011 and can be used to obtain final permits, procure funding, and begin construction.
STATE TO DEARBORN
DEARBORN TO CLARK
CLARK TO LASALLE
LASALLE TO WELLS
WELLS TO FRANKLIN
FRANKLIN TO LAKE
COVE
CLARK
LOWER WACKER CONCEPT PHASE (10%)
STATE
DEARBORN
ACCESSIBLE ROUTE FROM WACKER
LASALLE
FR
11
WELLS
MAIN BRANCH CHICAGO RIVER
A
L NK
IN
KINZIE
PLANS, SPEC & ESTIMATE (90%)
UPPER WACKER
LAKE
FE B
3 UNDER BRIDGES
MAR A N A L Y S I S P HA S E
APR
MA Y
J UN
JU L
CO NCE P T P H AS E ( 1 0 %) OUTREAC H
AU G
SEP T
OCT
NOV
PLANS, SPEC & ESTI MATE (90% )
DE C
JAN
REVIEW OF PREVIOUS STUDIES 12
Over the past twenty years, many different agencies, including the Chicago Department of Transportation, the Department of Planning, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Coast Guard, along with different organizations and stakeholders groups, including the Mayor’s Riverwalk Development Committee, the Chicago Loop Alliance, and the Friends of the River, have introduced specific ideas and goals regarding analysis of the possibilities for the space and conceptual designs for this section of the Chicago River. In an effort to honor these previous studies and distill the shared ideas and objectives, the design team carefully reviewed and analyzed each report and document. The matrix to the right represents a summary of the priorities from each previous study, grouping these priorities into four recurring themes or areas of concern – Economy, Recreation, Culture and Ecology. To create a sustainable vision for the Chicago Riverwalk, the design team defined the balance of these diverse systems, uses, and needs as the goal for the project.
SHARED OBJECTIVES ECONOMIC
RECREATIONAL
MAXIMIZE LEASABLE OPPORTUNITIES
CREATE A CONTINUOUS PUBLIC WALKWAY
ACTIVATE SPACE ALONG THE RIVER
IMPROVE VERTICAL CIRCULATION
IMPROVE PERCEPTION OF SAFETY
INCREASE RECREATIONAL BOATING ACTIVITY
SUPPORT COMMERCIAL BOATING ACTIVITY
PROMOTE MORE PUBLIC RIVER USES
CULTURAL
ECOLOGICAL
CREATE DIVERSE GATHERING SPACES
RESTORE AQUATIC HABITAT
CELEBRATE THE RIVER’S UNIQUENESS
CULTIVATE TERRESTRIAL HABITAT
EMBRACE THE SITE’S HISTORY
IMPROVE THE WATER QUALITY
ENHANCE COMMUNITY LIFE
USE SUSTAINABLE BUILDING STRATEGIES
Chicago Riverwalk Feasibility CDOT, 1992 Main Branch Guidelines 1995 Chicago River Development Plan Planning, 1999 Chicago Riverwalk Program and Development, MRA, 1999 Volpe Analysis US ACOE, 2001 Chicago River Master Plan Chicago Parks District, 2002 Chicago Riverwalk Agenda Mayor’s Office, 2005 Chicago RiverMarket Planning (w/ VOA), 2006 Action Plan for the River Friends of the River, 2007 OWPP Riverwalk Study Mayor’s Office, 2008 Central Area Action Plan Planning, 2009 Chicago Riverwalk Framework Plan Planning (w/ SOM), 2009
Use sustainable building strategies
Improve the water quality
Cultivate Terrestrial Habitat
Restore Aquatic Habitat
Enhance Community Life
ENVIRONMENTAL
Embrace the Site’s History
Celebrate the River’s Uniqueness
Create Diverse Gathering Spaces
CULTURAL Provide more public river uses
Increase recreational boat activity
Improve vertical circulation
Create a Continuous Public Walkway
RECREATIONAL Support Commercial Boating Activity
Improve Perception of Safety
Activate Space along the River
Maximize Leasable Opportunities
ECONOMIC
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SUMMARY OF OPPORTUNITIES 14
ECONOMIC Using the analysis framework – Economy, Recreation, Culture and Ecology – as a guide, the team developed forward-looking opportunities and potentials to achieve balance and increase diversity of users and experience on the River’s Main Branch. These included multiple ideas and strategies to: • Create a public realm configured to embrace the rich recreational life of the city, from fishing and kayakers to rollerbladers and birdwatchers. • Provide the infrastructure to enable a great diversity of commercial strategies to ensure resilience in a changing marketplace, bring greater vitality to the River and increase revenue generation to offset operational and long-term maintenance costs. • Honor the iconic quality of the existing urban context by embracing and interpreting its layered history while also providing space for the ongoing cultural life of the City. • Improve the health and function of the River’s ecology by increasing habitat, integrating innovative water quality strategies, and using sustainable building techniques.
FLOATING LEASABLE SPACE EXPANDABLE LEASABLE SPACE ALCOVES, KIOSKS AND STALLS FOOD CARTS, CAFES AND RESTAURANTS STREET PERFORMERS, CONCERTS, MOVIES FARMERS MARKETS WAYFINDING AND SIGNAGE
RECREATIONAL
CULTURAL
ECOLOGICAL
ACCESSIBLE PATHS BIKE, RUN, WALK EXERCISE/YOGA PLATFORMS BOAT SLIPS AND DOCKING SKATING, SKIING AND FIRE FISH STOCKING FISHING AMENITIES
EVENT LAWN PERFORMANCE SPACE SEASONAL DISPLAY: WATER/ICE/FIRE NEW PUBLIC ART AND ART EVENTS PLAY SPACES FITNESS MARKETS
INCREASE HABITAT ENRICH AND DIVERSIFY VEGETATION RAINWATER FILTRATION RAINWATER CAPTURE AND REUSE ENCOURAGE SUNLIGHT AND WARMTH DECREASE WIND EXPOSURE
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THE RIVER IN THE CITY 16
The physical form and character of the Chicago River has always paralleled the City itself. In many ways, it serves as a mirror – literally reflecting the great architectural heritage of the City, while symbolically embodying constant social and cultural shifts. In the days of industry, the River was a conduit, moving goods and enabling trade. In the days of Burnham, the River became a civic space, expressed by a new layer of promenades and overlooks called Wacker Drive. In this century, the River increasingly is seen through lenses of recreational and ecological potential. All of these layers combine into a strong cultural context within which the successful design must operate, bridging the rich architectural legacy of the bascule bridges, bridge houses, and arcades with the modern needs of an increasingly dense downtown population of residents, office workers and tourists. The goal of the design is to bring the vibrancy and vitality of Chicago’s city streets, world-renowned park system, and city life – all of which currently are largely disconnected from the River in this reach – directly down to the edge of the water.
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THE LIFE OF THE RIVER 18
As the City has shifted and changed through the centuries from industrial, to civic and beyond, so too has the perception of the River. Once viewed as dirty and lifeless, the River has nonetheless grown an increasingly vocal collection of advocates that have campaigned for a cleaner and more multivalent future. With goals such as “fishable and swimmable,” many citizens have enabled the reclamation of the River as a place for ecological and pedestrian activities. Interventions such as the Fish Hotel, aimed at increasing aquatic habitat, and the Riverwalk, which invite people to the River’s edge, have increased awareness of the connections between urban living and the River as an ecological and recreational asset. Similarly, increasing numbers of kayakers and recreational motor boats from the Lake now are venturing into the Main Branch – both providing a different experience of the River and the City. All the while, these new uses have been balanced with the ongoing commercial life of the River including water taxis, tour boats, and occasional barge traffic. Continuing this trajectory, the vision outlined here seeks to create a Riverwalk that mediates between the great civic energy of Chicago and the life of the River – a mixing zone where City and River meet.
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EXISTING CONDITIONS AND CHALLENGES 20
CITY
Accessibility Required from Upper Wacker to Riverwalk
CITY Upper Wacker Drive
RIVER
RIVER
+22.0 Upper Wacker Elevation
+6.4
Modelled 100yr Storm
+5.0
Existing Dock Elevation
+4.1
Max. Recorded Water Elevation
+3.5
Reverse to Lake Level
0.0
Chicago City Datum
-2.0
Normal River Water Surface Elevation 25FT Buildout Limit
Dock Wall There are technical challenges to the realization of the Riverwalk which the design team understood and accounted for in this early stage of design to ensure feasibility of proposed design ideas, efficiency of construction, costeffectiveness, and safety for the public. These challenges include: • Grade differentials of 17’ between the typical City sidewalk and the existing dock level and another 5’ of grade change to safely pass under the bridges. • River traffic needs that include safe havens within each block to allow rest and emergency pull-offs. • Limited build-out equaling 20’ from existing Bridge houses, 25’ within each block, and 50’ along the western most block. • River fluctuations and occasional flooding that limits public access during flood events and requires maintenance for post-event cleanup. The first phase of construction addressed and overcame each of these challenges, providing the client and design team with invaluable technical understanding and experience to ensure the future success of the Riverwalk.
Existing Dock Wall Sheetpiling and Arcade Column Footings
0
50’
120’
250’
SHIPPING CHANNEL TWO-WAY TRAFFIC
200 FT
180 FT
21
20’ Build-out Limit at Underbridges
Proposed Underbridges EL. +0.5
25’ Build-out Limit
Existing Dock EL. +5.0 Upper Wacker EL. +22.0
Accessibility: Required Ramp Lengths Upper Wacker Dr to Dock Level 1:12 slope / 210 FT (railings required) EL. +22.0
Dock Level to Underbridge Level 1:12 slope / 54 FT (railings required) EL. +5.0
EL. +5.0 Upper Wacker Dr to Dock Level 1:20 slope / 300 FT (no railings required)
EL. +22.0
EL. +0.5 Dock Level to Underbridge 1:20 slope / 90 FT (no railings required)
EL. +5.0
EL. +5.0
EL. +0.5
PROJECT GOAL: CONNECTING CITY AND RIVER 22
CITY
RIVER Beneath the history of the site and the technical challenges it presents, lays a deep current of public sentiment for a more strongly interwoven relationship between the City and the River. The intent for the Riverwalk is to not only create a continuous east-west circulation system, but also a series of north-south vertical relationships. To satisfy this need, the design vision relies upon a series of traditional land/water typologies that are interlocking and symbiotic as opposed to walled off. The Marina Plaza, Cove, River Theater, Swimming Hole, Jetty and Boardwalk are spaces re-interpreted to the immediate context of each block – all with an entirely urban language, all formed by the strong figural shape of the path, and all inviting various forms of interplay between City and River. Each of these spaces provides different experiential qualities and suggests different types of habitation and program all linked by a fluid and connective thread of path.
COVE
STATE ST
MARINA PLAZA
DEARBORN ST
CLARK ST
RIVER THEATER
LASALLE ST
SWIMMING HOLE
WELLS ST
JETTY
FRANKLIN ST
BOARDWALK
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THE RIVERWALK PLAN 0
40’
100’
200’
LIN
WELLS ST
NK
A FR ST
BOARDWALK
LASALLE ST
24
JETTY
SWIMMING HOLE
RIVER THEATER
WACKER DRIVE
COVE
STATE ST
CLARK ST
DEARBORN ST
25
MARINA PLAZA
CONNECTIONS, SYSTEMS AND FEATURES 26
To express the project’s ethic of physical continuity and universal accessibility, the design team conceived the Riverwalk as a series of civic layers. The design language of the path reinforces the overall concept of a connected system, yet still invites diversity through distinct layers of program, lighting, vegetation and icons/art. The programming of the spaces further east responds to the City’s commercial and tourism core, with more potential for dining and retail and a greater emphasis on flexible, paved areas. To the west, spaces along the path become greener and more intimate, suggesting more use by local office workers on lunch breaks, downtown residents on a family walk, or tourists on a stroll. In the center of the project, the first phase of construction’s end point, a magnificent and three-dimensional landscape provides flexible spaces to watch the River while also enabling a gentle accessible connection to Upper Wacker Drive.
PEOPLE
EDUCATION
VEGETATION
LIGHTING
PROGRAM
PUBLIC ART
ACCESSIBILITY
STAIR TO UPPER WACKER ACCESSIBLE CONNECTION TO UPPER WACKER RAMPS
STATE ST
DEARBORN ST
CLARK ST
LASALLE ST
WELLS ST
FRANKLIN ST
27
STAIRS CIRCULATION
SEATING
FLEXIBLE SEATING
STATE ST
DEARBORN ST
CLARK ST
LASALLE ST
WELLS ST
FRANKLIN ST
FIXED SEATING
CONNECTIONS, SYSTEMS AND FEATURES VEGETATION
DEARBORN ST
CLARK ST
LASALLE ST
WELLS ST
FRANKLIN ST
PLANTING AREA AQUATIC GARDENS GRASS AREA TREE
LIGHTING
DEARBORN ST
CLARK ST
LASALLE ST
WELLS ST
FIRE LIGHT
FRANKLIN ST
28
FOUNTAIN LIGHT BOLLARD / PATH LIGHT DOCK EDGE LIGHTS FLOATING LIGHT SCULPTURE
PUBLIC USE: DAYTIME ACTIVITY
29
BOATING SUNNING WATER PLAY LEARNING
STATE ST
DEARBORN ST
CLARK ST
LASALLE ST
WELLS ST
FRANKLIN ST
DINING
FISHING INFORMAL PLAY
PUBLIC USE: NIGHTTIME EVENTS
DEARBORN ST
CLARK ST
LASALLE ST
WELLS ST
FRANKLIN ST
HEARTH FIRE LIGHT ART PERFORMANCES GLOWING FOUNTAIN ILLUMINATED BOARDWALK NIGHT FISHING SAFE LIGHTED PATH
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