The Ribbon
- Chicago, United States
- 2016
- Competition
Some of downtown’s highest pedestrian traffic areas do not easily connect to the lakefront, limiting tourism and recreational opportunities. To help move people more effectively to and from popular lakefront sites, a series of paths unifies what are now divided lands. The first suspended pathway beckons pedestrians, moving them between the lakefront and the Chicago Riverwalk and Upper Wacker Drive. The second path connects bicyclists and rollerbladers between the Riverwalk and Lakefront Trail. These ribbon-like trails offer panoramic views of Chicago’s diverse edge and opportunities to observe several means of transport velocities at one time.
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Our proposal to improve the accessibility of the area foresees the realization of an areal greenway connecting the main parks around the Chicago Loop and climbing over the barrier of the Lake Shore Drive. The curve played an important role in the design to contrast the linearity and the geometry of the surroundings.
The greenway is designed as two different suspended paths that intertwine into a ribbon. The first path is for a pedestrian use, while the second one for bikers and sports activities. The first one connects the Lakefront to the Chicago Riverwalk and the Upper Wacker Drive. The second one connects the Lakefront Trail to the Chicago Riverwalk and the abandoned Du Sable Park.