Last year the Chicago Architectural Club challenged architects, artists, and other creative types to find a new use for the Spire hole in Streeterville. The winning idea was…a big yellow ball.
The club isn’t holding a Chicago Prize competition for 2011, but it is co-sponsoring an international competition with MAS Studio to rethink the “Emerald Necklace” of boulevards found throughout Chicago. The “Network Reset” contest challenges architects and urban planners to provide “soft or hard, big or small, temporary or permanent interventions that can reactivate and reset the Boulevard System of Chicago, comprising 10 parks and 19 streets.
From the introduction:
While portions of it, such as the Logan Square Boulevards District (an official city landmark district since 2005) still maintain the original character, other parts have just become underutilized areas and oversized streets that act as barriers within neighborhoods.
…What if the system becomes a new transportation corridor in the city? What type of transportation would that be? What if the open space becomes an active layer and not just a passive one? What if this system provides activities that the city as a whole is lacking? What if the system becomes a tool for social cohesion? What if the system has a strong visual identity? What if it becomes an economic catalyst for the neighborhoods? What if the system is all of this and more?
Any ideas from the Yo audience?