PART TWO | Massive Change in the City

Chicago Architects in MCA’s Sustainable Architecture Exhibition

Studio Gang Architects: Ford Calumet Environmental Center

The design for this multi-purpose facility at the Calumet Open Space Reserve was awarded to Studio Gang Architects after an international design competition in 2004. The center will educate visitors about the cultural, industrial, and ecological history of the area, while serving as a base of operations for local efforts in environmental remediation and rehabilitation. Inspired by nature, Studio Gang's design uses a bird's nest as a metaphor for the design and construction process, as the site is on a major migratory route for birds and home to several endangered species. As Jeanne Gang comments, "Like a nest, the building is constructed from discarded and abundant materials from the Calumet industrial region." The open-air porch, supported and shaded by the nest-like mesh structure, not only protects birds from colliding with glass, but also maximizes ventilation, one of several natural methods of heating and cooling the interior

Tigerman McCurry Architects: Pacific Garden Mission

In 2005, with land donated by the city, the Pacific Garden Mission commissioned Stanley Tigerman to design its new base of operations. The largest continuously operating rescue mission in the country, the Mission's purpose is to provide shelter and services to destitute men and women free of charge. Sustainable features of this new 150,000 square foot facility include a green roof, solar panel water heating, and energy efficient greenhouses. This feature reveals a broader concept of sustainability and rehabilitation as residents will cultivate organic produce in the greenhouses to provide income for the Mission and gain job training skills.

Gensler: Hyatt Regency Lower Wacker Exhibition Hall and Riverwalk Renovation Project

The Gensler team, led by Elva Rubio, is designing a renovation and expansion of the Hyatt Regency's Lower Level Exhibition Hall to improve the energy, water, and waste management systems and to situate the building in closer relationship with the Chicago River and surrounding urban fabric. Conceived as an interactive curtain wall along the riverfront, the major sustainable features include daylight harvesting to help light the space under Wacker Drive, and alternative methods of heating and cooling. Gensler is also crafting a master plan for the south bank of the Chicago River from Michigan Avenue to Lake Shore Drive. This initiative will reactivate the City's once-strong connection to the river, providing an infrastructure for a spectrum of public activities including a permanent home for the City's new Green Market.

Farr Associates: Greenworks Headquarters and "Eco-Industrial Park"

As the anchor tenant in a new "eco-industrial park" adjacent to the Center for Green Technology, Christy Webber Landscapes' new headquarters is located in Chicago's Humboldt Park neighborhood in an area informally known as "Green Town" because of the city's initiative to foster environmentally responsible redevelopment there. The building designed by Farr Associates features geothermal heating and cooling systems along with solar panels. A green roof will help insulate the building, and together with rooftop greenhouses, advertises the business of this progressive landscaping company. The surrounding park will center on a retention pond from which additional lots will radiate, with vertical-axis wind turbines providing power for the entire complex.

Murphy/Jahn: Lakefront Supportive Housing/Near North

Incorporating sustainable features at low cost is the challenge being met in this residence built for the client Mercy Housing Lakefront, which provides living units and supportive services for low income individuals. The materials are simple, minimal, and visible: a concrete structure with glass set off by stainless steel panels for the facade, while the roof provides a platform for solar collectors and wind turbine systems. Additional sustainable features to reduce energy consumption, such as "gray water" waste reclamation and rainwater harvesting, are being integrated into the building's design. 

UrbanLab: Aurora Master Plan

UrbanLab's design for a master plan for the city of Aurora, Illinois, takes as its starting point the concept of an "urban ecosystem." The plan emphasizes the interconnectedness of systems for transportation and movement and the presence of the river as a strong natural force that defines the downtown. It also lays the framework for increasing density to create a more pedestrian friendly, public transit oriented, economically viable development. The designers' goal is for this plan to become a pilot project by applying some of the foremost sustainable practices on a regional scale.

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP: "Zero Energy Tower"

SOM's Chicago office has designed a "Zero Energy Tower" skyscraper as a corporate headquarters for a Chinese company in a new development near the Pearl River in Guangzhou, China. The only work in the exhibition not intended for a Chicago location, it reveals an emphatic commitment to exploring new approaches to achieving energy efficiency in tall buildings. Described as "a high performance instrument shaped by the sun and wind," this building's form is based on the principles of aerodynamism, incorporating wind turbines at several points within its vertical frame. The design of the lobby includes a "light scoop" to bring as much natural light as possible into the interior, while the glass surfaces will contain photovoltaic elements to harness solar power. The designers emphasize the importance of symbiotic thinking between architecture and engineering to determine all elements of the building's form, function, and quest for enhanced sustainability.