Competing but complementary proposals to restore Chicago’s tree canopy and natural habitat shared the top prize in World Business Chicago’s inaugural “Horizon Lines” design contest to find the city’s next big idea.
In a word, both proposals envision making Chicago a lot greener.
Selected from nearly 200 submissions and six finalists, The Morton Arboretum and Chicago design firm MKSK were announced as the winners at a City Club of Chicago event Tuesday. Each will receive a $5,000 honorarium and a seat at the table with public and private partners to explore how to bring their visions to life.
The Morton Arboretum’s winning idea is Green City Rising: cultivating a network of mini-forests across the city, each putting down roots reflective of the communities from which they spring.
MKSK’s Wonderways! proposal reimagines Chicago’s 26-mile, century-old boulevard system as a network of restored prairies and forested landscapes connecting the parks ringing the city.
“Together, they show what is possible when design, civic ambition, and local voices come together to build a greener, more connected Chicago for the next generation,” Phil Clement, CEO of World Business Chicago, the city’s economic development arm, said in a news release.
Launched in the spring, a panel of 10 judges winnowed the contest to six finalists in June, putting the proposals on display at the Chicago Cultural Center. The exhibition has been extended through Oct. 11.
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The other finalists offered equally bold visions for the future of Chicago, from an activation of the city’s 1,900-mile alley network into residential streetscapes to covering below-grade stretches of the Dan Ryan and Eisenhower expressways to create new green spaces.
Each of the four runners-up will receive a $1,000 honorarium.
The jury selected the two winning proposals after determining that together, they offered a more complete vision to expand Chicago’s tree canopy, restore natural habitats and create green public spaces.
“We believe that Green City Rising and Wonderways! can work together, creating new opportunities for people to connect with one another, with nature, and with the neighborhoods they call home,” said Andrea Sáenz, president and CEO of the Chicago Community Trust and a Horizon Lines jury member.
While they won the design contest, there is no implementation plan for the two proposals, which would require funding, feasibility studies and city approval before their visions can become a reality.
Like architect Daniel Burnham’s 1909 Plan of Chicago, whose “make no little plans” vision shaped the development of the city, its parks system and its open lakefront for more than a century, the World Business Chicago contest winners have similar ambitions for the future.
“Our goal is to position nature as a key stakeholder in Chicago’s economic and community development,” said Jill Koski, president and CEO of The Morton Arboretum.