Redesigning "Nowhere" in Grant Park (original) (raw)

Architecture Sat Dec 20 2008

The Chicago Park District has announced a $35 million plan to redesign the controversial site in front of the proposed Chicago Children's Museum. Daley Bicentennial Plaza, seen universally as the "nowhere" at the other end of Frank Gehry's BP Bridge, was the subject of a Request For Qualifications (RFQ) for design services issued last week. The new design work will be coupled with repairs to the moisture membrane over the Monroe Street garage. The park district's intention appears to be for the new design to assume the Children's Museum is in place.

In all likelihood, the new design will be much more modern than its current Beaux-Arts composition. Continuing the precedent set by Millennium Park, new projects should continue to transform the lakefront from an outdated promenade to an egaging 21st century space.