Chicago River Museum

A new home for the Friends of the Chicago River, situated on the western most block of the Chicago Riverwalk and the river’s confluence, this project provides administrative spaces, classrooms and lecture hall for educational initiatives, and an exhibition space to teach the public about the river’s history, ecology, and future.

The objective of the architecture is to create a building integrated with both the city and river, while leaving as much public park space as clear as possible on the riverwalk level. The solution utilizes a precast concrete shell structural system to support the single story interior that is level with the street in order to reduce the footprint as much as possible. 

Using a module, sized to the smallest unit of program, allows for the space to be composed in a way that would best fit the needs of the different programs. The Module was arranged so where two units meet, there exists about just enough space for a corridor opening. Modules can be clustered to form larger spaces or pulled apart to create a corridor like arrangement depending on programatic need. The composition of the negative space is of equal importance. The porosity separates the various programs while allowing natural light to penetrate to the public level beneath and for greenery to reach up to the interior level.

S. 2018  Carol Ross Barney Studio