Original Entry Title: NorthWorks
Team code: 170740
School: University of Maryland

Overview (Narrative Excerpt from final four team submission)

NorthWorks connects communities, adapts industry, and engages the North Branch of the Chicago River. These ideas are embodied in four unique places: Maker’s Yard, The Landing,  The Bend, and The Basin.

Maker’s Yard, the heart of NorthWorks, is the center of creativity and innovation in this vibrant community. Maker’s Yard enables manufacturing industries to adapt to new technology while providing diverse employment and housing opportunities.  Commuters access Chicagoland through The Landing, a new transit hub which connects regional rail and the 606 trail with the new water taxi harbor and reestablished bus lines.  The Bend reclaims the river, transforming it into a remediative public park lined by town homes. Lastly, The Basin is a destination where people can engage with the river and one another through recreation and entertainment.

Together, these elements establish NorthWorks as a community where industry, communities, nature, and neighborhoods work.

Design Narrative

Once the heart of the industrial economy of Chicago, the site area along the North Branch of the Chicago River has fallen on hard times as technology continues to redefine manufacturing and supply chains. Though many manufacturing and industrial jobs have left the area, the spirit of innovation and creation remains a driving force in the community. Today, a tremendous opportunity presents itself to reorient this industrial corridor toward the innovative jobs of the 21st century, while re-positioning the riverfront as a vibrant public attraction.

The core of the NorthWorks development proposal is the integration of community, industry, and landscape along the North Branch; accomplished through three gears: connect, adapt, and engage. NorthWork’s inclusive development strategy connects people and cultures through transportation initiatives, provides the necessary tools for the industrial labor force to adapt to a changing economy, and engages the natural beauty of the previously neglected portion of the Chicago River. Combined, these efforts spur the creation of Chicago’s newest neighborhood.

The Clyborne Metra Station has fallen into disrepair and is underutilized. The NorthWorks development proposal redefines this area as a transit-oriented community. The Landing, located in a repurposed warehouse, is a multimodal transit center that connects the rail lines, the 606 bike trail, the water taxi, and the automobile commuters.

Maker’s Yard is home to educational and co-working spaces focused on innovation and adapting manufacturing for modern technology. Spaces once used for heavy industry are reimagined as collaborative workspaces. While Maker’s Yard redirects the industrial labor force toward the jobs of the future, much existing manufacturing has been preserved along Elston Avenue. Maker’s Yard partners with City College of Chicago’s manufacturing programs and offers space for the public to create their own products. Affordable live-work housing overlooking the yard spurs a culture of creativity through diversity.

PRODUCT

Through its conservation measures and strategic land use, NorthWorks embraces the North Branch as the community’s front yard. The Bend creates much needed recreational space along Chicago’s second waterfront, allowing the city to engage with the river. The Bend transforms the riverfront into a lively public space where Chicago residents can walk or bike on trails which connect the 606 trail or continue over floating docks past vegetation zones that feature native plants and wildlife. New residential development lines the riverfront, providing subtle security and active fronts onto public spaces. The Barge Basin connects the river walk to the bustling North Avenue and engages the diverse populations of Chicago in socializing and recreational activities via new commercial and retail development, and a multitude of activities that keep the shoreline active year-round.

With all of its gears joined, NorthWorks establishes itself as a model for the 21st century neighborhood with providing places to live, work, shop, and relax.

Team

• Jennifer Chorosevic (Team Leader), Joint Master in Architecture and Master in Real Estate Development
• Pedro H. Camargo de Alb. Sanchez, Master of Architecture
• Peter Cunningham, Master of Architecture
• Daniel Green, Master of Real Estate Development
• Alexis Robinson, Master of Community Planning

Faculty advisers

• Matthew Bell, FAIA, Professor Architecture
• Margaret McFarland, Professor Real Estate

Final Four Submission Materials

• Final Four Presentation Board
• Final Four Pro Forma

Original Submission Materials

• Competition Stage Narrative Summary and Pro Forma
• Competition Stage Presentation Board