More than a kilometer in length, a "public pier" emerged in downtown Chicago on the shores of Lake Michigan in 1916. It was part of a master plan inspired by the For a Beautiful City movement by Daniel Burnham, and therefore was conceived not only as a marina for freighters and pleasure boats, but also as the most important recreational and city event venue. During the two world wars, it was used for training military sailors, and then passed from company to company, in fact, having lost its meaning.
For the centenary, landscape architects at Field Operations - perhaps the leading experts in urban waterside parks today - have developed a plan to rebuild the pier. Its goal was to return the historical place to its original social function and to ensure a close connection between the city and the water area.
So far, only the first phase of the large-scale project has been completed: the city park of the Polk brothers has been opened, the square named after them with an unusual fountain (in winter it turns into a skating rink) and a promenade along the southern part of the pier, ending with an undulating amphitheater staircase. Specialists from the New York bureau nARCHITECTS took part in the formation of the promenade.
Along the edge of the quay, as a kind of reference points, the architects have placed small pavilions of two types. Some resemble a bus stop and are ticket offices with a secluded canopy. The irregular interior surface of these awnings is covered with polished stainless steel and reflects the glare and ripples of the water surface. The second type is classic small kiosks. In their decoration, corrugated panels are used, one face of which shines like polished steel, and the other shows the texture of wood. As a result, the buildings look different from departing and docking ships.
The central element of the long embankment is a ribbon-like wall made of longitudinal wooden planks. There are 2787 m hidden behind these peculiar blinds2 commercial premises. Unexpectedly, the planks smoothly turn into steps and form an elegant staircase (the architects themselves say that its shape was prompted by the famous Spanish Steps in Rome).
In addition to the South Promenade and the stairs leading to the amusement park, nARCHITECTS have created an "information tower" at the very beginning of the pier. Its glass panels with chrome details reflect the sky, trees and everything that happens around. But besides this, the architects allowed themselves to create a kind of optical illusion: a rather modest size, chamber-like structure from many angles is perceived as an integral part of the powerful, high-rise silhouette of the city.
