4rd Annual Design Competition 2022
A NEW VISION FOR THE COURT OF THE PRESIDENTS
The Chicago-Midwest Chapter of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art is pleased to announce the 3rd annual Chicago-Midwest ICAA Design Competition which is open to all ICAA members and member firms. Competition judgment will be “blind” and entries may be submitted by individuals or teams of any number. Participants will have 3 months to conceive and illustrate designs for a new pavilion and gardens surrounding the existing South Shore Cultural Center in Chicago.
Rationale
The Court of the Presidents is east of South Michigan Avenue in Grant Park and is divided into two areas of equal size north and south of the approach to East Ida B. Wells Drive, on axis with the Buckingham Fountain.
The North Court of the Presidents features formal gardens surrounding a 150-foot-wide exedra flanked by classical columns designed by architect Stanford White in 1908. “Abraham Lincoln: The Head of State” is positioned at its center, a bronze sculpture of a seated Lincoln by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. The exedra and sculpture are to remain; the surrounding gardens are open to redevelopment as part of this competition.
The South Court of the Presidents was, until recently, additional formal gardens. Within the past decade, the City of Chicago has used the area to showcase contemporary artwork by Chicagoans. This entire area, including the gardens and artwork, is open to redevelopment as part of this competition, as is the airspace above the sunken railroad track bed west of both the North and South Courts (the tracks are to remain).
This competition imagines a hypothetical situation where this entire area may either be designed to “complete” the Court of the Presidents by memorializing past leaders of the USA, or entrants may reimagine the entire park as a monument to another purpose or aspect of life in this country. Architecture, landscape architecture and public art may all be proposed as part of a proposal.
Program Description
The fourfold challenge of the competition is to design a) a usable park space, b) dedicated to a noble purpose, c) sympathetic to the monument to Lincoln and d) the broader context of Grant Park. The site should be fully accessible to persons with disabilities. Entrants may propose to include some or all the area within the competition boundary. New functions within the area may be proposed. The inclusion of parking, public restrooms and/or other practical components are entirely at the submitter’s discretion. Richness in detail, for architecture, landscape architecture and/or public art is encouraged. Use of classical design elements and/or principles is required.
2022 Winner
Craig Farnsworth