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Chicago Riverwalk Wins 2016 Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence

By Ellen Shubart, Class of 2006

The Riverwalk, Chicago’s newest linear park attraction that garners kudos from tourists and locals alike, was honored with a Silver medal from the Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence. The prize came with a $10,000 check, handed to the city at a September 15 ceremony at the Jetty (between Wells and Franklin streets) on the Riverwalk
The Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence (RBA) was established in 1986 by architect Simeon Bruner. The award is named after Bruner’s late father, Rudy Bruner, founder of the Bruner Foundation. The RBA recognizes urban places that make contributions both economic and social to America’s cities. The award promotes innovative thinking about the built environment and celebrates stories of creative and inspiring urban development. Projects are envisioned as being models for similar urban development in other areas.

Receiving the honor for the city was David Reynolds, Commission of the Department of Fleet and Facility management (2FM) and his staff, including Michelle Woods; landscape architects Carol Ross Barney of Chicago-based Ross Barney Architects; Gina Ford of the Boston-based Sasaki landscaping firm; representatives of Walsh construction and Alfred Benesch Engineering; and Margaret Frisbie, executive director of Friends of the Chicago River and operators of the McCormick Bridgehouse & Chicago River Museum. CAF docents, who worked this summer giving both Riverwalk Talks and the Riverwalk West tour, attended the ceremony to support Chicago’s efforts.

Continuing the Burnham Legacy
At a ceremony marred only by the noise of construction on the opposite side of the river – indicative of how successful the Riverwalk has been – Bruner called the Riverwalk “a wonderful example of the transformative power of visionary public leadership and investment in the urban infrastructure of our cities.”
“This continues Burnham’s legacy, building on the Burnham Plan and making an investment and leveraging the city’s open space,” he said. Calling the Riverwalk “the city’s jewel in the crown,” he professed to be delighted with the concept of turning the corner on the Riverwalk, a reference to a new exhibit of architectural renderings of possible next phases. Nine architectural firms have envisioned ideas for the Riverwalk’s potential next phase, which would run from the confluence, along the South Branch of the river to Ping Tom Park in Chinatown. (The “River Edge: Ideas Lab” exhibit is open through January 7, 2018, at Expo 72, located at 72 E. Randolph Street, open Monday – Thursday 8 am– 7 pm; Friday 8 am – 6 pm; Saturday 9 am – 6 pm; and Sunday 10 am – 6 pm. See ChiRiverLab.com for details.)

Although Mayor Rahm Emanuel could not attend the ceremony, he lauded the award, noting that the city “can take pride in this national recognition for the Chicago Riverwalk … we are building on Daniel Burnham’s vision and turning the waterfront into a magnet for both recreational opportunities and economic growth.”
This award is the 18th major honor for the Riverwalk project, the final two phases of which were completed between 2013 and 2016. The monetary award will be used for ecological programming on the Riverwalk.

Simon Bruner noted that the team who visited for three days to evaluate the city’s project “loved” Chicago. He called the design for the Riverwalk both “ambitious and bold. It meets the high expectations that we have for Chicago, and continues the tradition of innovation.” He also lauded the “off the charts” complexity of the project. “You can’t imagine how much of this is underwater,” he quipped to the crowd.

Frisbie, of the Friends of the River, noted that the Riverwalk will connect thousands of children to the river. Programming will teach them about fish, micro vertebrates and all aspects of nature, she said. The park district programming that began this year will hopefully be expanded next year.

Connecting the river and the city
The award-winning last two phases of the Riverwalk, taking the esplanade from Wabash Avenue all the way to the confluence of the river where it separates into the North and South branches, transformed underutilized waterfront infrastructure into five distinct “rooms.” The project faced the technical challenges of lowering the Riverwalk to the river’s edge to enable boating and water recreation while creating a sustainable, flood-resilient landscape.

While design elements and materials provide a strong sense of continuity along the path, each of the five waterfront blocks offers a unique shape and programmatic approach to exploring the relationship between the river and the city. From the bustling eastern sections, encompassing the areas near and under the Wabash, State and Dearborn bridges, can be found most of the restaurants – excellent for enjoying a glass of wine while watching the “parade” pass by – while the last three rooms, opened late in 2016, have specific installations for children and learning experiences. The $95 million project covers 3.5 acres and was completed in October 2016.

New amenities this summer included art installations along the river, many festival events and fireworks evenings, educational programs about the river’s ecology and wildlife, as well as boat rentals and floating wetland gardens.

The Bruner staff is developing case studies on the 2017 Medalists that will be published online and in a book in 2018. Each detailed case study will include information about the project’s history, community partners, design and development, financing, and impact, along with highlights from the selection committee discussion.

In case you were wondering – the 2016 Bruner Gold Medal went to the SteelStacks Arts and Cultural Campus, at the site of a reclaimed steel mill in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Previous RBAs that have gone to Chicago projects include: Gold in 2013 for Garfield Park’s Inspiration Kitchens; Silver in 2011 for the Gary Comer Youth Center; and Silver in 2009 for Millennium Park.

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