Thursday, March 11, 2010

another exciting project in the pipeline

Construction of the Ford Calumet Environmental Center has been delayed a bit after the winning proposal was chosen back in 2004, but it's finally in the construction pipeline.

2009/09/27 Ford Calumet Environmental Center
27,300-square-foot museum, $17 million
13400 S Torrence Ave, Chicago, IL 60633


This architectural gem will be a stunning highlight in the relatively unknown Hegewisch Marsh, a 120 acre wetland which has undergone a lengthy clean-up after years of neglect, thanks to a conservation grant from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. It has the potential to boost environmental tourism to the city. The southeast corner of the city and northwest Indiana feature interconnected wetland areas, which attract many species of migrating birds.

Last fall I went to a tree planting workday at Hegewisch Marsh and was amazed by the extent to which nature has rebounded in this area of the city as heavy industry has decreased. I look forward to returning to the site to see how our little oak trees have grown.

More links:
City of Chicago page from when contest was started in 11/03.
Plusmood architecture and design blog

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