2012
Bloomingdale Trail Proposal, Western Avenue, Chicago
THE WESTERN ARCADE/THICKENED LACE
This Project is an organic response that calls attention to the historic industrial aesthetic of the concrete and steel while invigorating and activating spaces carved out as a byproduct of the re-construction of the Bloomingdale Trail. It uses the existing brutalist structure to provide a network of interconnected spaces for creative expression, play, social interaction, strolling, and contemplating. The proposed vaulted concrete lace system responds organically to the site, and is adaptable in both scale and purpose. This system provides the signature visual style; it will become an instantly recognizable sign of the trail, much like the Art Nouveau metro stops of Paris. Importantly, this textile-inspired concrete lace creates spaces for people, while providing a decorative, domestic and familiar scale and presence.
Our synthesis will utilize the dominant railroad structure as the substrate for a rhyzomatic plan. Through use of organically informed concrete textile lace, spaces are established for a variety of activities. Spaces include a Play Space, Spectacle Space, Transit Space, Skate Space, and Promenade.