Blair Kamin reports on proposals from five teams of celebrated designers vying to re-imagine Navy Pier. They reflect big ideas, and big budgets.
As Kamin reports, the budget for the project has been set at $85 million, so it's hard to imagine how fantastical elements such as an aerial gondola or a tower, called the Glacier, which would rise out of the lake just east of the pier, will fit practically into a comprehensive redevelopment.
"'We received a lot of big ideas,' said Steve Haemmerle, the pier's executive vice president and its point man on the contest. 'One of the things we'll need to sort through over the coming months is how these big ideas work at Navy Pier.' If fully built, most of the plans would far exceed the $85 million budget, he acknowledged."
Read the full story: 5 fresh visions for Navy Pier
Will Good Design Ruin Navy Pier?
Architecture critic Blair Kamin has an interesting take on the planned $115 revamp of Chicago's top tourist attraction. He wonders if James Corner's "high design" can meld with Navy Pier's "seductive riot of carnival midway tackiness."
Navy Pier Design Team Picked
From amongst an international field of distinguished competitors, a 17-memeber team led by James Corner Field Operations has been selected to revamp the Chicago landmark's public spaces, reports Blair Kamin.
Money for Blighted Neighborhoods Pushed to Chicago Tourist Attraction
The administration of Rahm Emanuel okayed a financial scheme to move money for poor neighborhoods into a fund for Navy Pier, a downtown mall and theater.
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