City of Chicago
Pedway Enhancement Study
Chicago, Illinois
40 CITY BLOCKS, CONNECTING OVER 50 BUILDINGS
Commissioned by the Chicago-based Environmental Law & Policy Center, Davis Brody Bond led a team of creative consultants — including engineers BuroHappold, Billings Jackson Design, and British designers City ID — in the creation of an innovative study aimed at rethinking and revitalizing Chicago’s moribund Pedway.
Navigating through the Chicago Pedway system in its current state is one of the more uninspiring and obscure experiences within the Loop. The course of 65 years of expansion has resulted in a labyrinth of disjointed spaces, each developed without functional or aesthetic considerations. The absence of a functional mapping system, integrated programming, or attention to overall user experience has left users feeling disoriented, indifferent, and unsafe while attempting to navigate the maze-like Pedway system.
The final Enhancement Study addresses the area’s myriad issues and increases its civic and economic value through a series of measures both practical and imaginative, including: (1) correcting ADA and code related issues; (2) establishing a bold new signage and wayfinding system; (3) responding to the building program at grade; (4) classifying spatial typologies by function; (5) adding “spatial memory” through an integrated user experience.
The architectural critic Blair Kamin of the Chicago Tribune praised the study’s “rigorous diagnosis of the Pedway and the array of solutions it lays out” and its many “intriguing ideas” such as the curvilinear Free Library Incubator Space — carved out of what was previously a somber east-west corridor — and the cube-shaped entrance pavilion to the Pedway in Millennium Park, which creates a “visually memorable yet neutral form that can project a strong identity while fitting into a variety of contexts.”
(Renderings and photomontages by Davis Brody Bond)
The New Chicago Pedway — Zones of Influence. The groups of buildings that march along the main stem of the Pedway west to east consist of the Thompson Center, Chicago City Hall & County Building, Daley Center, Block 37, Macy’s, Millennium Heritage, Chicago Cultural Center, and Millennium Station & Park. By acknowledging the building uses at grade and their respective zones of influence, we are able to add a programmatic memory in each segment to create a parallel and complementary experience within the Pedway network. Creating programmatic connections both vertically and horizontally enables the Pedway to become a connected experience of spaces that unveils itself progressively as part of an intuitive journey.
Spatial Memory — Creating a Baseline
Free Library Incubator Space. The area within this stretch of the Pedway transforms the corridor into a free library gathering space. Much like the trunk of a tree, the main corridor continues as the active circulation route connecting east to west through the Pedway. A series of three alcoves serve as the branches providing pocketed reading respites for group assembly along with a distribution space.
The World’s Largest Book. The main entry to the Pedway Little Free Library utilizes the Daley Center sidewalk portal as a main entry point. This unmemorable three sided concrete guardrail and stair has the potential to be transformed with a civic art icon that reinforces the Literacy programs housed below by installing the World’s Largest Book as an iconic branded entry marquee.
Pedway Network / Zones of Influence
Millennium Station Entry (before). Given the volume of pedestrian traffic associated with Millennium Park, its underground garages, and the adjacent transit stops, this unmarked opening can be developed as the primary east entry for the Pedway.
Millennium Station Entry (after). Continuing northward the series of follies within the park such as the Bean, the Crown Fountain, and the Pritzker Pavilion, the entry cube makes visible this primary entry into the Pedway underground while providing shelter during the harsh winter months.
Pedway Cultural Center Corridor (before). This main thoroughfare for pedestrian traffic resides directly below the great hall of the Chicago Cultural Center, yet little to no opportunity exists for larger connections via atria into this memorable space without disrupting its historic character.
Millennium Station Corridor (before)
Pedway Cultural Center Corridor (after). Inspired by the artist James Turrell, the Purple Corridor study proposes an immersive light environment to serve as a permanent exhibition within the cultural zone. Bathed in soft light, the installation creates a sensory response within users.
Millennium Station Corridor (after)
Macy’s Corridor (before)
Macy’s Corridor (after)