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Ford Calumet Environmental Center
Client: Ford Foundation

23,700 sf :: $7.5 million
2007 AIAHR Design Achievement for Unbuilt Projects
The Ford Calumet Environmental Center will be a regional link
for environmental research, programming, and stewardship in
Southeast Chicago. The center is envisioned as a central
building surrounded by areas of wetland prairie and woodland.
The building and outdoor spaces will house a variety of
programs and exhibits, interpretive trails, and educational
programs for all ages. The building will be a model of “green
architecture,” including innovative energy saving and waste
reducing features. The physical site is an unused, open space
comprised of 25 acres of wetland and 95 acres of upland,
home to threatened and endangered birds, adjacent to
industrial properties. The fundamental premise is to reintegrate
a wetlands biosphere on the site and conservatively float the
building envelope above. The first refrain is the view of the
Four Elements Tower (earth, wind, fire, water) from the
approach. The center grows as a series of ribbon curves that
define and capture the environment. Because of the center’s
modest square footage (23,700sf), it is desired that, when
appropriate, spaces have the flexibility to serve more than one
function. It is also desired that, as often as possible, the
center’s spaces have direct relationships to the surrounding
site, both for views and for direct access to the outdoors.