Architect
UrbanLab with Gensler
Project
Ford Calumet Environmental Center, competition finalist
Location
The 4,000-acre Calumet Open Space Reserve of marshes, wetlands, and prairies on the far south side of Chicago.

Program
Considering that Calumet’s regional wetlands feed the Calumet River, which in turn, feeds 20 percent of the world’s fresh water in the Great Lakes, UrbanLab’s project explores water efficiency in the Calumet region. The design remediates a small piece of Calumet's landscape by setting into motion a series of sustainable environmental “loops.” Water on the site, and from adjacent streets and parking lots (including the Ford parking lot across Torrence Avenue), is drawn through wetland waterways planted with native plants and into a series of water collection bioswales. Native plants naturally remove contaminants, suspended solids, hydrocarbons and nutrients from the water. Water entering the collection bioswale at the northeast corner of the Ford Calumet Environmental Center building is pumped by an aeroturbine to the roof of the building to be further cleaned by green roof filtration wetland troughs. Water on the green roof is used to grow native plantings and cultivate invertebrate species in order to attract birds, visitors, and people from the community. The green roof is designed for community activities, with urban farming plots, learning gardens, and a bio-filtered swim hole. Water slowly moves through the green roof wetland troughs, drips through interior “straws,” and into a clean water marsh at the southwest corner of the building. A series of ramps, stairs, and pathways connect the green roof with the building below.