In 2016, Chicago’s Navy Pier will be celebrating its centennial birthday the new-fashioned way: infused with green space. Taking its cue from the greening of Chicago’s lakefront parks, the $85 million Pierscape Design Project, overseen by James Corner Field Operations (JCFO), will revitalize the public face of the pier as part of the central mandate established by its Centennial Vision. JCFO will add water features, public art installations, local vegetation, a greenhouse with suspended vegetal pods, a floating swimming pool that becomes an ice rink in the winter months, and ‘hidden nature’ installations that will provide ecosystems for algae, bird life, and rock fish. The architects want to reorient pedestrian passages and community spaces throughout the pier to better integrate with Lake Michigan and Chicago skyline views, and JCFO even drew up plans to update the iconic 140-foot Ferris wheel, originally designed as an homage to the amusement ride built in 1893 for the World’s Columbian Exposition.
Spotlight: Navy Pier Pierscape
