The Chicago Riverwalk by Sasaki

In 2012, Sasaki led a team comprised of Ross Barney Architects, Alfred Benesch Engineers, and Jacobs/Ryan Associates in creating a vision for six blocks along the Chicago River.

Chicago Riverwalk by Chicago Department of Transportation, Ross Barney Architects. Collaborative Partners.- Sasaki Associates, Jacobs Ryan Associates, Alfred Benesch & Company. Photograph © Kate Joyce Studios

Building off earlier studies and tying into a previous stretch of the Riverwalk, the team envisioned a pedestrian connection below the hectic city above, bringing people down to the water’s edge to experience a moment of respite and wonderment. The project was completed in 2016.

“This project capitalizes on existing infrastructure, bringing people to the water’s edge and enabling them to walk along the river continuously without needing to move up to the street level to cross to the next block,” said Gina Ford, design principal for Sasaki, the project’s prime consultant. “The end result is an ecologically sensitive design that improves water quality, enhances visitor experiences and serves as a revenue generator for the city.”

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Associates Sasaki

Sasaki Associates. Sasaki was founded 65 years ago by Hideo Sasaki, internationally respected as a landscape architect, planner, teacher, and mentor. In 1953 Hideo founded the firm that would evolve into Sasaki, and in the same year he joined the faculty at Harvard. He was educated at the University of California, Berkeley and at the University of Illinois, as well as at Harvard. As chairman of Harvard's Landscape Architecture Department from 1958 until 1968, Hideo helped revolutionize the study of landscape architecture by tying it to the larger issues of planning and by breaking down the traditional barriers between practice and teaching.

For over sixty years, they have garnered over 500 national and international design awards across all disciplines.

CAROL ROSS BARNEY

Carol Ross Barney. FAIA (born Chicago, 1949) is a Chicago architect. Bachelor of Architecture, 1971, University of Illinois Urbana/ Champaign. Founder and President, Carol Ross Barney is responsible for the design excellence of all projects undertaken by the studio.

Her work has been published in national/ international journals and has been exhibited in Chicago, New York, Washington D.C. and San Francisco. Under her leadership, Ross Barney Architects has received more than 60 major awards, including 4 National AIA awards, 2 COTE Top Ten awards and the 1995 AIA Illinois Firm of the Year. In 2005, Carol received the American Institute of Architects Thomas Jefferson Award for Public Architecture, acknowledging a distinguished career and dedication to Architecture in the public realm.

She has developed a keen understanding of the special needs of institutional and public clients which has produced distinctive structures that have become cultural icons.

A native Chicagoan, Carol is the mother of three sons and grandmother of Kai and Han.