McCormick Place REDUX
2011 Burnham Prize Competition “McCormick Place REDUX” The Chicago Architectural Club is pleased to announce the 2011 Burnham Prize Competition: “McCormick Place REDUX”. This year’s competition is co-sponsored by the Chicago chapter of the American Institute of Architects and Landmarks Illinois and is intended to examine the controversial origins and questionable future of the McCormick Place East Building, the 1971 modernist convention hall designed by Gene Summers of C.F. Murphy Associates and sited along the lakefront in Burnham Park. Built on parkland meant to be “forever open, clear, and free”, considered an eyesore by open space advocates, and suffering from benign neglect its owners, the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, Gene Summer’s design for McCormick Place East is nevertheless a powerfully elegant exploration of some of modernism’s deepest concerns. The current building’s predecessor generated withering criticism from civic groups so when it burned in 1967 its critics mobilized. The raw economic power of the convention business served to hasten rebuilding atop the ruins. But while Shaw’s previous building lacked any architectural merit, Gene Summers brought to the new project his years of experience at Mies van der Rohe’s side. The resulting building is a tour de force that succinctly caps the modernist dream of vast heroic column-free interior spaces.
The competition charge The Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority claims the building needs $150 million in improvements and that the building is functionally obsolete, too small to remain viable as an exhibition hall. While the facility appears frayed, the building is in fundamentally sound condition. Connected to the larger McCormick Place exhibition complex by a covered bridge over Lake Shore Drive, the stronger connections are to the lakefront the museum campus and nearby Soldier Field. Surrounded by an over-abundance of parking, served by CTA buses, and bordering the immensely popular lakefront walking/running/biking path the possibilities for the building and the site would seem boundless. But so far, the only visions for its future to be expressed publicly been total erasure or reuse as a casino. The “McCormick Place REDUX” competition seeks to launch a debate about the future of this significant piece of architecture, this lakefront site that was effectively removed from the public realm, and the powerful pull of a collective and public claim on the lakefront. This iconic building is caught in the crossfire of a strong, principled, and stirring debate. So the question posed by the competition is quite simple: what would you do with this massive facility? What alternate role might the building play in Chicago should it be decommissioned as a convention hall? And if the building were to go away, how might the site be utilized? What might you do with a million square feet of space on Chicago’s lakefront (along with 4,200 seat Arie Crown theatre)? Clearly outmoded for its original use, sited on a spectacular stretch of lake-front, and undoubtedly of very significant architectural quality - what visions are there for a resolution?
The competition “McCormick Place REDUX” is an international single-stage ideas competition meant to explore possible scenarios for the third iteration of a significant 20th century building on a site that raises a string of questions about public space, parkland, access, and righting historical wrongs. The competition is open to anyone with a vision of what McCormick Place East might become: students, designers, artists, architects, planners, and landscape architects.
Awards
Questions Questions regarding the competition will be accepted from 15 February until 1 March. Questions should be emailed to burnhamprize2011@gmail.com. Answers to questions will be posted to the competition website on 2 March 2011.
Submission Competition submissions are due at 12 noon CST on 4 April 2011. Submissions are electronic and submitted via email only. The final competition submission is limited to four 11x17 boards oriented in landscape format. Each presentation board must include the registration number in the lower right hand corner. Projects must be submitted in PDF format. The 11x17 presentation boards must be combined into a single four page document file, named with the 5-digit registration number - “00000.pdf” Each submission should also include an 8.5x11 PDF document which includes the submission’s 5-digit registration number, the project title, names of team members, and contact information for the entrant or team leader. The file name of this ID document should be “ID_00000.pdf” Both PDF files must then be saved in a single ZIP file named with the 5-digit registration number -“00000.zip”. The single ZIP file should be emailed to burnhamprize2011@gmail.com. The email subject line should say “registration number 00000” and the body of the email should include the contact info of the entrant or team leader.
Schedule 1 February 15 February 1 March 2 March 15 March 4 April 16 April
2011 Burnham Prize registration opens question period opens question period closes answers posted on competition website 2011 Burnham Prize registration closes competition submissions due at noon CST jury, symposium, and winners announced
Competition rules and disclaimers 1. Participation in the competition assumes acceptance of the regulations. 2. Registration fees are non-refundable. 3. This competition is to be conducted solely via this website – no additional printed material is available. 4. McCormick Place REDUX is a juried anonymous competition. Anonymity will be maintained throughout the competition. No names of team members shall appear on graphic material or in file names. The unique 5-digit registration number is the only means of identification. 5. All material received by the competition organizers becomes their property, including reproduction rights. 6. The intellectual property rights for each submission remain with the author(s) of the submission. 7. Members of the Board of Directors of the Chicago Architectural Club, staff and Board members from AIA Chicago, and Landmarks Illinois, members of the jury or their families, or those involved with the preparation or funding of this competition may not participate. 8. The decisions of the jury will be final and unalterable, and they thereby reserve the right to leave any prize vacant, or partially award prizes. 9. The official language of the competition is English.
First prize: $3,000.00 Second prize: $1,500.00 Third prize: $750.00
Registration Registration for the 2011 Burnham Prize Competition: “McCormick Place REDUX” will open on 1 February 2011. Registration for the competition will close on 15 March 2011. The regular registration fee is $90.00. Reduced registration fees for students (with a current ID) is $50.00, and the fee for 2011 CAC members is $30.00. One registration is required per project submitted. Participants may submit multiple entries or be part of multiple teams, but each submission must have an individual registration number. Confirmation of the registration along with the registration number will be emailed to the registrant (individual or the team leader) for identification of the final submission.
M c C o r m i c k P l a c e R E D U X BRIEF_2
Parking North 1 level 1500 parking lots
Parking South 2 levels 1947 parking lots
Site Boundaries
M c C o r m i c k P l a c e R E D U X SITE PLAN_3
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M c C o r m i c k P l a c e R E D U X BASEMENT_4
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M c C o r m i c k P l a c e R E D U X GROUND LEVEL_5
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M c C o r m i c k P l a c e R E D U X FIRST LEVEL_6
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A_A
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M c C o r m i c k P l a c e R E D U X SECTIONS_7
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