Metropolitan Planning Council’s fifth annual placemaking contest seeks ideas to bring Union Station to life for nine days this summer
(Chicago) ... Chicago’s Union Station is an iconic building and a major national transportation hub—but it could be so much more: a gathering place for West Loop residents, an attraction for tourists, another cultural jewel in Chicago’s crown. This summer, the Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC)’s fifth annual placemaking contest, Activate Union Station, is seeking the best ideas to breathe new life into Union Station. Thanks to generous sponsorship from Fifth Third Bank, winners will receive $5,000 to bring their idea to life for 10 days this summer, between Aug. 24 and Sept. 2. “Our Chicago headquarters, Fifth Third Center, is located directly above Union Station; as such, this exciting project is near and dear to us,” said Robert A. Sullivan, President & CEO, Fifth Third Bank (Chicago).
“The best entries will be those that turn this sleepy giant into the people magnet it really should be,” said Marisa Novara, MPC program director. “From an interactive gallery to an urban dance hall, whatever ‘it’ is, we are calling on creative thinkers and doers to dream it, design it and then make it happen, to show Chicago the great potential we have in Union Station.”
Contest entrants must submit their ideas to Activate Union Station by Wednesday, July 24, at 5 p.m., at activateunionstation.com.
Why Union Station?
Located in Chicago’s West Loop neighborhood, Union Station is the nation’s third-busiest rail hub, accommodating more than 120,000 Amtrak and Metra passengers every day—more daily traffic than Midway Airport. From local commuters to people traveling across the country, all of them pass through the station—but few actually hang out there because the station, sadly, is not the city’s most scintillating attraction.
Yet Union Station is full of untapped space and resources. In 2011, the City of Chicago adopted the Union Station Master Plan, which not only outlines plans for renovating the station to accommodate a greater number of travelers, but also identifies the need to create a truly great place that invites people to stop and stay awhile. In D.C. and Philadelphia, Union Stations have transformed into community hotspots. They serve a robust commuter and tourist base, but have become so much more: a place for people to mix, mingle and enjoy.
The Active Union Station contest calls on entrants to bring to life three prime locations at the station:
- The iconic Headhouse, located west of Canal Street: Home of the Great Hall and its 110-ft.-tall atrium, the Headhouse provides an excellent backdrop for any variety of event programming.
- The east-facing arcade on Canal Street: Partially covered and accessible from the public sidewalk, the space caters to a range of summer events while providing shelter from the elements.
- Plaza of Fifth Third Center (along the Chicago River): Between Adams and Jackson streets on the west side of the river, the plaza is a very popular summertime lunch destination; it has the potential to become much more.
Who can enter?
This competition is open to anyone with a vision of what Chicago’s Union Station could become: architects, landscape architects, planners, students, graphic designers, industrial designers, artists, neighborhood groups, chambers of commerce and others. Contenders will have the demonstrated ability to design, implement and program these spaces.
This is a design-build-program competition. Winners will be responsible for all three stages. Winning means implementing!
Deadline
Contest entrants must submit their ideas to Activate Union Station by Wednesday, July 24, at 5 p.m., at activateunionstation.com.
Entrant guidelines
This contest is not about the best-looking design. The emphasis and the top criteria for our judges is the plan that best draws people in to engage and activate the space. Successful designs will create a gathering place that is universally accessible and inclusive, as well as active and engaging. All design aspects should be focused on programming this space.
Entrants are encouraged to explore metroplanning.org/placemaking and placemakingchicago.com to learn more about the elements of placemaking, a community-based approach to planning, designing and managing great public places.
Contestants will find a complete list of submission guidelines and instructions at activateunionstation.com.
Prizes
Two of the three sites will be selected for implementation. Winners will receive $5,000 per site to implement their ideas at Union Station over nine days this summer, from Aug. 24 through Sept. 2. MPC thanks Fifth Third Bank for its generous sponsorship of the contest.
Winners will be chosen by the Placemaking Chicago Review Panel, which includes representatives from Chicago’s arts, architectural and planning communities, as well as representatives from Amtrak. Results of a public vote will also be taken into consideration by the panel.
Media contacts
For more information, please contact Mandy Burrell Booth, MPC communications director, at mburrell@metroplanning.org or 312-863-6018; or Ariel Ranieri, MPC communications assistant, at 312-863-6020 or aranieri@metroplanning.org.