Casestudy Chicago

CASESTUDY
CHICAGO RIVER WALK
Riverfront development
INTRODUCTION
• Location: Chicago, IL
• Client: Chicago Department of Transportation.
• Size:3.5 acres
• Partially Completed by different firms in different
phases.
OBJECTIVES
Cultural objectives: Economic objectives:

• Create diverse gathering spaces. • Maximize leasable opportunity.
• Celebrate the river uniqueness. • Active the space along the river.
• Enhance the community life. • Improve the perception of safety.
• Support commercial boating activities.
Environmental objectives: Recreational objectives:
• Restore aquatic habit. • Create the continuous public walkway.
• Cultivate terrestrial habit. • Improve vertical circulation.
• Improve the water quality. • Increase recreational boating.
• Provide more public river uses.
BRIEF HISTORY
Burnham’s Vision
- Daniel Burnham (1909 Plan of
Chicago)
- Established vision of Chicago
lakefront, transformed from
industrial conduit to something that
had civic presence
- Transformed function of city
- upper level (less flood prone)
- City level
- Lower level – walkways engaged
with river and passages through
bridge houses that lead you
around on the continuous walk
PROBLEM STATEMENT
• River walk as it existed before was just a

block long- couldn’t move from one room
to the rest
• Had to go up and down to the street level
to engage with the river
• Series of spaces that were underused,
under utilized, kind of dead spaces
Existing condition and challenges
• Permission to add 25 and 20 feet of
new land into the river
• Limited by ability to keep the shipping
channel which is still active and create
safe harbor for boats
• Kind of busy street as it was
• Upper Wacker drive level and dock wall had a big grade
change between them
• Dock wall elevation was still about 7’ higher than the normal
pool of Chicago River
• Had a disconnect as one moves along the river
• Disconnection vertically as well- never got close to water’s
edge
• Never hits higher than certain level before they open the
locks and drain it to lake Michigan
5
DESIGN CONCEPT
• To think about and reimagine the circulation system

• New connective thread as a place to engage with water
• New path allowed to build- could behave as sculptural thread-
could change the shape
• Each of the blocks of rooms embrace different kind of programs,
create different experiences and different water theme space
• Six rooms of spaces(given names to really signal he idea that they
were river inspired design spaces), namely:
- Marina
- Cove
- River theater
- Swimming Hole
- Jetty
- Broadwalk
Phase 1 Phase 2 and 3
• 6 distinct block or room development.

SHADE UNDER • Length of each room is approximately 300
BRIDGE feet except far west room.
• Length of far west room is approximately
600 feet.
5 4 3 2 1
6
VIETNAM VETERANS
MEMORY PLAZA
Far west room
• Block 1,2 and 3 named Marina Plaza, Cove,

River theatre work is done in phase 2.
• Block 4,5 and 6 named Water Plaza, Jetty
and Boardwalk work is done in phase 3.
MICHIGAN AVENUE
1. THE MARINA PLAZA
• Designed walkway drops down as close to the

water as we could get it.
• Allows for boat docking and boat engagement
and water engagement- entire length of 300 ft.
long space.
• Restaurant, dining and sitting by the water being
close to the boats.
• Made iconic by continuous 300 ft. long bench-
also serves as a bar for the upper level- kind of
urban furniture that unites and provides
functional kind of part to the space.
• Human centric section.
2. COVE
• Kayak rentals and docking for human-
powered crafts provide physical connections
to the water through recreation.
• Growing use of the river in terms of
recreational boating, from larger to small
human powered craft.
• Create a space that felt like urban beach-
instead of stones and sand, precast element
• Broad and wide stairs with low riser.
• Use of custom precast seating elements.
3. RIVER THEATRE
• Idea of Wacker drive sidewalk and one of the
spaces folding down and becoming staircase to
the river.
• Very challenging, given very limited horizontal
space and too much of vertical change
• Incredible engineering to make what we call
stramp or super stramp.
• Eventually- a river theatre large scale

amphitheater seating with sliced ramp through it
• Allows ADA access from upper to lower level
• A sculptural staircase linking Upper Wacker and
the River walk offers pedestrian connectivity to
the water’s edge and seating, while trees provide
greenery and shade.
4. WATER PLAZA
• Interactive water feature.

• Recreational space.
• High exposure to sunlight.
5. JETTY
• Jetty gets its name by the seven narrow • Railing-
piers or jetties. -Design detail.
-Lower rail- Height of someone sitting in a
• Inspired by floating wetland pilot project wheel chair fishing.
by Friends of Chicago river.
-Corners propped up for standing person to
• Ecological learning environment. fish.
• Tiny installation meant to prove that may • Fish infrastructures- attached to the
be one could create a small form of underside.
habitat. • Low cost aquatic habitat infrastructures like
• Recreational fishing, fish, fish habitat and fish linkers and hula skirts attached to polls to
aquatic species. create nightclub for fish.
• Robust carpet of green.
Jetty
• Different types of plants to
establish a variety of
ecosystems.
6. BROADWALK
• Vertical access location.
• Largest room-600 feet.
• Largest green space park.
Under bridge
THE RIVER BANK
• An accessible walkway and new

marine edge creates continuous
access to Lake Street and sets the
scene for future development in
this critical space at the
confluence.
• The distinct programs and forms
of each typological space allow
for diverse experiences on the
river ranging from dining
opportunities to expansive public
event programming to new
amenities for human-powered
crafts.
Source: Architect magazine
MATERIALS AND FINISHINGS © 2021 Sasaki Associates, Inc.
Custom precast seating

elements capitalize on the
shallow grade changes and
create sunny places for
sitting near the river’s edge
Elegantly-detailed and Boardwalk spaces,

custom high-backed teak illuminated at night,
benches provide great intertwine with the The floating wetlands are
place to sit and watch life constructed ﬁsh habitat, framed in stainless steel and
on the river and provide places for then attached to the piers
Granite and tiles used in pedestrians to observe,
staircase and pavement ﬁsh, and learn
MATERIALS AND FINISHINGS
Custom architectural cast stone seating
Metal sheets at under bridge connections that both

Integrated LED lighting protects the pedestrians but also reflects water and
provides texture at the makes the space light that would have otherwise
pedestrian scale and been a dark space
clarifies edges for safety
CONNECTIONS AND FEATURES ANALYSIS
• The design invites diversity through distinct

layers of programs, lighting, vegetation and
icons/art.
• Programming
• Spaces in the east responds to city’s
commercial and tourism core.
• To the west the space becomes more
greenery and intimate for family walks and
stroll
• The center, provides flexible spaces to
watch river and enabling a accessible
connection to the river .
18
19
IMPACT ON SURROUNDING
• ENVIRONMENTAL
• SOCIAL Before
• Attracts approximately 780 visitors on a
typical summer weekend afternoon. 73%
of observed visitors engaged in
commerce-related activities, 20% in
leisure activities, and 8% in recreational
activities.
• Increased scenic quality of the Chicago
Riverwalk
• ECONOMIC
• Supports investment in public art
• The riverwalk vendors has increased
which has developed number of
permanent jobs and the increase in After
profits
• Developed as community marketplace
© Landscape Performance Series

INFERENCES
Riverfront development is a creative planning of river bank for the purpose
of better lifestyle, Business, Environment and management. For quality
time, connection of water sources through recreation, Greenery and shade,
interactive learning environment. opportunities to expansive public event
programming to provide a connection of people and river.
• Design shows the critical process of transforming once neglected space into
a showcase public spaces.
• A series of new programmatic connections to the river has been shown
through changes in the shape and form of the space.
• The range of programs are all focused for the connection of river and the
city.
• Stramp or so called super stramp are used for universal designs.
• The vegetation's used are diverse with a provision of education the locals
about the plant and animal life.
References
• Chicago Riverwalk
• Sasaki: Chicago Riverwalk
• Ross Barney Architects: Chicago Riverwalk
• USDOT: TIFIA Loan, Riverwalk Expansion
• Chicago Department of Transportation: Chicago Riverwalk
• American Institute of Architects, Chicago Chapter, Design Excellence
Award (Phase 2)
24

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CASESTUDY

CHICAGO RIVER WALK

Cultural objectives: Economic objectives:

• River walk as it existed before was just a

• To think about and reimagine the circulation system

• 6 distinct block or room development.

• Block 1,2 and 3 named Marina Plaza, Cove,

• Designed walkway drops down as close to the

• Eventually- a river theatre large scale

• Interactive water feature.

• An accessible walkway and new

Custom precast seating

Elegantly-detailed and Boardwalk spaces,

Custom architectural cast stone seating

Metal sheets at under bridge connections that both

• The design invites diversity through distinct

© Landscape Performance Series

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