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UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI

Date:______

I, ______, hereby submit this work as part of the requirements for the degree of: in:

It is entitled:

This work and its defense approved by:

Chair: ______

Public space in the Millennium

Case study of Millennium Park, Chicago, IL

A thesis submitted to the Division of Research and Advanced Studies of the University of Cincinnati

in partial fulfillment of Requirements for the degree of

Master of Community Planning

in the School of Planning of the College of Design, Art, Architecture, and Planning August 17, 2006

Sinem Metin

B.A., City and Regional Planning, Istanbul Technical University, Turkey 2004

Committee Chair: Menelaos Triantafillou, MLA, AICP Committee Member: Frank Russell, March Reader: David Edelman, Ph.D., AICP

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study is to explore meaningful places and clarify their importance in urban life in the 21st century. This research argues that the quality of urban life is based on the experience of urban open spaces. Such experience is what creates meanings and has not been given the necessary level of attention by many professionals in urban design. The outcome, therefore, may not always provide the user needs, which is the key factor for successful public places in the last couple of decades. This paper argues that the ambitions of designers should meet with the expectations of users to create meaningful public spaces. My interest in this study requires a phenomenological inquiry of necessary clarifications of terms. The research question, ‘Meaning for whom?’, needs to be answered by using empirical research method to identify what is conceived by outsiders as well as what is perceived by insiders.

When we talk about 21st century complex and vibrant metropolitan cities, one of the most famous and attractive cities in U.S. is Chicago where took the attentions to its lakefront and skyline with the city’s one of the latest works; Millennium Park. The plan and process had already given an idea about how conspicuous the park would be. Since my concentration is on contemporary public places, Millennium Park is a place to study at the intersection of urban design and culture.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all my committee members for their guidance and encouragement. Their patience and support towards the unlucky situations I had been through this year were valuable and considerable. I would like to thank my committee chair, Prof. Menelaos Triantafillou, for all the professional or casual, but pleasant, conversations we had through out the year while assisting him.

They have always inspired me and enlightened for new ideas. My committee member, Frank Russell, has always been a support since my first quarter in

Cincinnati while working on Niehoff Studio. And special thanks to my reader and my advisor, Dr. David Edelman, for his guidance not only for school, but also for daily life in Cincinnati.

I, also, would like to acknowledge my dear friends Poonam, Narkar, Ruth

Marfil, Nazanin Tork, Duygu Karadeniz, Brendan Weaver and all other friends in DAAP for their support and the pleasant memories. I would like to mention the name of the most valuable person for all the faculty members and students, Connie Dean, for all the work she had done for all of us.

Finally, I cannot thank enough to my precious family who listened, encouraged, and supported me in all the ways I know in life.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Figures…………………………………………………………………….………2 List of Table………………………………………………………………….……………4 Chapter 1. Introduction…………………………………………………………………….……5 2. Literature Review…………………………………………………………….……8 2.1. Space & Place ………………………………………………………….……8 2.2. Sense of Place………………………………………………………….……9 2.3. Importance of Meaning in Urban Design……………………….…11 2.4. Meaning for Whom? ………………………………………………………13 3. Methodology…………………………………………………………………………18 4. Case Study……………………………………………………………………………21 4.1. Millennium Park, Chicago, IL…………………………………………..21 4.2. Location and History……………………………………………………….23 4.3. Locale……………………………………………………………………………25 4.3.1. Jay Prietzker Pavilion…………………………………………....26 4.3.2. BP Bridge…………………………………………...... 31 4.3.3. Crown Fountain…………………………………………………...34 4.3.4. Cloud Gate…………………………………………...... 40 4.3.5. Lurie Garden…………………………………………...... 46 4.3.6. Additional Amenities…………………………………………....50 4.4. Sense-of-Millennium Park…………………………………………...... 52 5. Findings & Conclusion…………………………………………...... 58 6. Bibliography…………………………………………...... 63

1 LIST OF FIGURES

Figure.1: Formation of sense-of-place Figure.2: Perceived, conceived, and lived space Figure.3: Desired place-making process Figure.4: Location of Millennium Park Figure.5: Plan of Millennium Park Figure.6: Location of Millennium Park in Grant Park Figure.7: Lakefront Chicago before Millennium Park was built Figure.8: Overview of Millennium Park Figure.9: Overview of Millennium Park Figure.10: Jay Prietzker Pavilion Figure.11: Jay Prietzker Pavilion night view Figure.12: Jay Prietzker Pavilion during a concert Figure.13: Jay Prietzker Pavilion from the BP Bridge Figure.14: Speakers of the Great Lawn Figure.15: The Great Lawn Figure.16: BP Bridge’s connection to the Grant Park Figure.17: Overview of the BP Bridge Figure.18: A view from the BP Bridge Figure.19: BP Bridge with its users Figure.20: Overview of the Crown Fountain Figure.21: Public participation Figure.22-23-24: Splitting faces Figure.25: Public participation Figure.26: Public participation Figure.27: The Cloud Gate Figure.28: The Cloud Gate Figure.29: View from inside Figure.30: View from outside Figure.31: Public Participation Figure.32: Public Participation Figure.33: Public Participation

2 Figure.34: Public Participation Figure.35: Plan of the Lurie Garden Figure.36: A view from inside Figure.37: View of the Pavilion from the Lurie Garden Figure.38-39: McDonalds Bike Station Figure.40-41: Ice Rink Figure.42-43: Wrigley Square Figure.44: Millennium Park attendance

3 LIST OF TABLES

Table.1: Jay Prietzker Pavilion ID Card Table.2: Comparison of ambitions and comments of Jay Prietzker Pavilion Table.3: BP Bridge ID Card Table.4: Comparison of ambitions and comments of BP Bridge Table.5: The Crown Fountain ID Card Table.6: Comparison of ambitions and comments of the Crown Fountain Table.7: The Cloud Gate ID Card Table.8: Comparison of ambitions and comments of the Cloud Gate Table.9: The Lurie Garden ID Card Table.10: Comparison of ambitions and comments of the Lurie Garden Table.11: Attendance of Millennium Park Table.12: Millennium Park ID Card Table.13: Comparison of ambitions and comments of Millennium Park Table.14: Summary of perceived, conceived, and lived Millennium Park Table.15: Design ideologies and their practices in Millennium Park

4 1. INTRODUCTION

Urban open spaces have been under threat because of industrialization,

globalization, and the shift from modernism to post-modernism. Contemporary, multicultural

society has experienced increasing standardization and uniformity in urban form, which

caused transformations in the character and theory of culture, society, and community. The

combination of increased spatial and social distance impacted society with a wide range of

negative social consequences; such as loss of sense of community, loss of meaning, lack of

cultural identity and place identity, and so on. The outcomes of modernist urbanism were

placelessness (Relph 1976), non-place (Weber 1964), and rootedness (Heidegger 1971) and urban design was mostly directed towards place-making. Urban design, thus, has aimed to create a sense-of-belonging in places. The common interest described with a framework of public realm in design decision making process to increase the quality of life. The response to these complex challenges is the expanding recognition of the importance of

public places in urban life. Public spaces are expected to inspire public life, and in a number of cities there has been an increase in the renewal of public space types to meet a variety of needs (Carr, et al., 1992). The role of design in achieving a fulfilling urban open space experience has come to national prominence and the expression of place has encouraged architects, planners and urban designers to be concerned with place-making, rather than simply sequence of spaces. The emergence of new forms in places resulted with new approaches for place-making. While conventional methods define place in its spatial, physical, and visual aspects, contemporary place-making approaches require a balanced consideration of tangible and intangible aspects of place. Planners and designers used to pay more attention to the material form of place instead of its social aspects (Arefi and

5 Menelaous 2005:4). The configuration of places, their material content, and their symbolic

interpretations provide opportunities for social interaction, therefore, attract and encourage

human life.

It has become more commonly understood that successful urban public spaces are

ones well-used by people (Francis 2003). Therefore ‘use’ became a requirement for good

public places. Many authors have shown that creating a sense of meaning in the outcomes of daily experiences, identifying, and sense-of-place, is an important feature to attract users to public places (Cresswell 2004; Gehl 1987; Gieryn 2000; Knox 2005; Madanipour 2001;

Rapoport 1982; Schulz 1980; Tuan 1977). It is clear that there is a direct relationship between people and place that can increase the social interactivity in public places. Such a relationship proposes that spatial form affects environmental behaviors. Being a fundamental feature of human existence (Schulz 1980) and an important component for place attachment and dependence shows the importance of meaning in urban design. It offers ways to consider the strong bonds from people to places.

Creating meaningful places undoubtedly requires an understanding of the social

components; cultural identity, personal identity, social interactions and so on. However; a

more important question is for whom is “meaning” being created? This research is an

attempt to analyze the contemporary meaningful places from two different perspective;

insiders and outsiders (Buttimer 1977; Schulz 1980; Relph 1976). The study will analyze

insiders’ perception of place as well as outsiders’. The creation of meaning depends on

cultural and personal backgrounds, and designers may not always form the same

experience through inquiries and observations as users. This paradox may inhibit designing

meaningful places; thus, this gap between conceived and perceived is crucial to be

6 examined for future practices. The main purpose of this study is to prove that if the users’

and designers’ understanding of place or the meanings they impose to the surroundings

overlap, designed place is then successful. The study will also provide planners and urban

designers an understanding of the affects of social, cultural, personal background on the

success of public spaces.

This intersection of design and culture is a place where both the local and the global have a voice. In the 21st century design elements, materials, and construction forms vary;

especially in the developed countries. One of the most attractive and successful

metropolitan cities in open space settings in U.S. is Chicago. It takes the attention of

scholars with its history as well as its present; multicultural and vibrant urban life, public art,

futuristic, contemporary architecture, and recently its “second modern era” (Pridmore and

Larson 2005). As a matter a fact, one of the recent creations in Chicago’s green park system, Millennium Park, is a good representative of this era. It shares a history with

Burnham’s Grant Park and carries it to the future. For the purpose of this study, Millennium

Park is a desirable example with the qualities it has. The development of Millennium Park is

a reinvestment project that tries to carry its site from ugliness and emptiness of old

industrial texture to a functional and aesthetic place in a cosmopolitan and heterotrophic city; Chicago. It is very contemporary with its architecture and consists of many public art pieces that provide several activities and social interaction. Most importantly, it was already

given a name by the officials before it was built. The question is ‘does the urban park of the

new Millennium provide the same meaning for its users?’ This study contributes to this

project by presenting a critical evaluation of research on meaning. It argues that such

7 research is valuable in that it has established the importance of place for creating and sustaining a sense of self in public places of the contemporary metropolitan cities.

8 2. LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1. Space & Place

“Space is not fixed in time, but is the result of a process over time, produced

in inseparable but shifting physical and social contexts.” (Lefebvre 1991:87)

Space and place are two inter-related concepts that can easily be confused.

Understanding one requires a comprehensive knowledge of the other. It is, therefore, important to understand the difference in order to understand the notion of place.

Heidegger (1971) describes space as a natural happening that is between the sky and the earth that both draws the boundaries of space and contains infinite distances. On the other hand, Schulz (1980) explains space as a man-made phenomenon with a three-dimensional organization of the elements, which make up a place. Thus we can say that place is a subset of space, which is a subset of the larger space. Space as a man made phenomenon, can be defined and its quality can be determined with its physical elements; such as light, wind, panoramas and so on. Place, on the other hand, is much more than these physical and natural elements or the location; it is explained as a space that contains certain qualities besides its tangible attributes. People are involved in the concept of place and they are an important component of a place; it is they who define place. People, their experiences and memories in a space, transforms space into a place with an identity and their activities dedicate it with a function and validate its existence. What differentiates a place from a space is the meaning that is added to that place by its users, which gives it an identity

(Cresswell 2005; Gieryn 2000; Tuan 1977; and so on).

9 It is questionable that there is only one description of place for all professions such as geography, sociology, planning, architecture, psychology, and so on. However, scholars from different disciplines (Cresswell 2005; Gieryn 2000; Schulz 1980; Heidegger 1971;

Tuan 1977) agree on the fundamental features of place by using different names and methods to explain each of them; location, locale, and sense-of-place. While location defines its boundaries and coordinates on earth, locale refers to the actual shape of place which people conduct their lives in as individuals; it is the setting of objects for social relations.

Sense-of-place represents the attachment of people to place, which is mentioned under different names; meaning and value (Gieryn 2000), sense-of-belonging (Heidegger 1971;

Schulz 1979) and sense-of-place.

2.2 Sense-of-Place

“Today we started to realize that true freedom presupposes “belonging” to

concrete place.” (Schulz 1979:32)

Sense-of-place, which is the desired result of place-making, was regarded as a human need for feelings of safety, security, and orientation (Lynch 1960; Schulz 1979).

Schulz explains the idea of genius loci –spirit of place- as the key to human identity as it relates to nature. An individual’s feeling of being-in-the-world is initially based on orientation and identification. Identification in this sense proclaims an identity that is defined in relationship of people to the place, is declared as the basis of sense-of-belonging.

Identification is becoming ‘friends’ with a specific area, which implies that the environment is experienced as meaningful. In the identification process society and culture are seen as major elements to shape the idea of belonging in which can be succeed by building local

10 architectural elements. The second variable of sense-of-belonging, orientation is described

as the function of enabling man to draw his own world, which gives a foothold in the world. It

allows man to be a part of his roots, his cultural and natural background. The result of

identification is the translation of nature into an ordered microcosmos, being a part of the

environment; either natural or built. However; “It is the ability to find identification in the

world, based on the character of a place and the ability to orientation within space, in order

to understand the context for living” (1979:7). This leads to existential “dwelling”, which

facilitates the process of being and fulfills a fundamental existential need to have a life filled

with meaning.

Figure 1. Formation of Sense-of Place Source: Author

Lynch’s (1960) description of sense-of-place is based on the feeling of security and

safety, in the way that man feels “at home”. He states that environmental image is what

gives an important sense of security and is what makes people feel safe and find a meaning

related to their identity. He names his statement as imagibility that facilitates the making of

vividly identified and highly useful mental image of the environment with its shape, color,

arrangement. The spatial structures are concrete things with character and meaning (Schulz

1979).

11 To sum up, sense-of-place is a result of a long process. An individual builds his

identity while passing through different stages in life with the combination of the society and culture he lived in. His identity is the initial element to determine where he belongs; he orientate himself in a particular space in the world; visualize and complement the objects in

that space; he identifies the character of those objects and when he feels secure and

comfortable, he familiarizes the space with his ‘home’; he starts to experience the space as

a whole and in pieces, creates memories, and then add meaning(s) into it. The space

transformed into a place from now on and man feels like he belongs there; he is a part of it.

He created the sense-of-place.

2.3. Importance of Meaning in Urban Design

“When the man-made environment is meaningful, man is ‘at home’.

(Schulz 1979:38)

Meaning is one of the most complex aspects of a place and has multiple attributes,

impossible to quantify and difficult to objectify. Most studies about meaning of built

environment have concerned with the relationship between design characteristics and

meaning, which is an important source to create meaningful places. However; instead of

evaluating designers’ goal-oriented process towards place-making, I will evaluate urban

public place as a product of users by using phenomenological inquiry. Design has two aspects; (1) the relationship of part to part in design that allows buildings to stand up and landscapes to grow, which demands the significance of place on the skills and knowledge of designers and (2) the relationship between the design and its function in society, which

includes its various meanings (Warber 1992). The latter, which is the focus of this study,

12 states that all the physical elements in the world can be built to create meaningful places;

but it does not necessarily mean that they increase experiential quality of those places,

which is the desired outcome of renewal projects in urban public places.

As Cresswell (2004) states it is the world of meanings and experiences. Earlier, it is

mentioned that experience and meaning is the basis for human existence. This statement

itself explains the importance of meaning in urban design. However; it is crucial to

understand that experience of meaning is not only a special type of human experience, but

it is also the characteristic of consciousness. It is a complex way of interacting with the world

that includes sensory reaction and emotional response. Cognition -in Schulz’s vocabulary

the process of gathering-, is the basis for a human sense of self, and has some relationship

to man’s actions and understanding of the world (Warber 1992). If this psychological

function is not fully developed, man does not feel true belonging to his environment, which

causes alienation; or placelessness. The indirectness of this relationship is another reason

of sense of disconnection between the designs created by our cognition of our bonds to the

world, to ourselves, and to the rest of the human race.

There is a discontinuity between the experience of meaning of a place and our

understanding of that meaning that is a fundamental difference between not only the

specific discernment of place meanings, and also the types of understanding. Even though

Rapoport declares in ‘The Meaning of the Built Environment’ (1982:14) that people react to their environments globally and affectively before they analyze and evaluate them in more specific terms, experiencing a place and thinking about a place are two distinct things. In the urban design decision-making process the activity is mostly based on thinking about places.

In contrast, it is very difficult to imagine beforehand the experiential quality of a place.

13 2.4. Meaning for Whom?

When Lefebrve (1991) describes urban social space, he proposes conceived place,

perceived place, and lived place. Urban space that is filled with built environment in a city is

a product came out of a plan after it was conceived by planners, architects, and urban

designers in one way. The same environment can also be perceived by the users and re-

defined by their lived experiences. Urban space therefore falls into a conflict at this point; a

conflict of conceived place and perceived place. Lived place, which is a more imaginary

term, depends on users’ experiences in urban space; the user includes his existence to the

environment. Lefebrve summarizes the existence of man in built environment under three

groups; spatial practice, representations of space, and representational space. Spatial practice (perceived space), is society’s space that is embedded with social relations; it depends on the perception of the users. It is mappable and measurable; however it definitely is not what architects, planners, and urban designers visualize. On the other hand, a representation of space (conceived space) is more subjective and imagined than spatial practice. It is a thought process that is visualized by shapes and colors and consists of both physical environment and experience. Professionals of the architecture and planning fields or other certain group of people impose their ideology into place and, for this reason, to users. They represent the space for users. The last one, representational space (lived space) is the space of users. It is the result of a process, and naturally, has a history formed with memories. It is directly lived and constructed by its inhabitants through daily experiences. All these social spaces depend on personal perceptions of the environment.

Figure 2. Perceived, conceived, and lived space Source: Author

Buttimer (1977), on the other hand, explains the gap between conceived and

perceived places from a perspective of insideness and outsideness in ‘Insiders, Outsiders,

and the Geography of Regional Life’. He explains sense of disconnection as outsideness and

argues that locality and place emphasize the perspective of outsider who views place in its

tangible attributes. The perspective of leading to a more livable place by the built

environment dominates many researches about “applied” environment in planning and

architecture. The researcher, who is the outsider, interprets the place in his own presupposed terms and the research therefore consists of the findings of place in what he intends to find in them. Buttimer states that the insider is the person who lives in and uses the place and argues that the need for urban design today is to understand the locality of the insider. Locality, here, stands out for local culture; however, it is important to understand

15 if there are multiple cultures or just one. The reason behind this statement is the necessity

of the recognition of disregarded and unquestioned everyday experiences the insiders have.

In other words, the outsiders must have an understanding of insiders’ perceived place. To begin, major need is to realize the meaning that is given by the culture and the way to capture it to promote a reflexive understanding of both insiders and outsiders. The main task, therefore, involves "a calling to conscious awareness those taken-for-granted ideas and practices within one's own personal world and then to reach beyond them toward a more reasonable and mutually respectful dialogue between those who wish to live in places and those who wish to plan for them" (Buttimer, 1980:170). The main reason is because designers’ perception of place does not always support users’. Then, at this point, the question is: ‘meaning for whom?’

There are two challenges for urban design. First one is how such dialogue can

proceed in practice that moves the attention to the decision-making process. The second

challenge is capturing of who the society is and what cultural identity it has. Therefore it

needs to be clarified what outsideness and insideness are for both practitioners and other

individuals.

“The question of being inside or outside arises as the place interacts with its environment. This phenomenological relationship becomes the basic standpoint of the existing space. The idea of being inside is clearly the initial meaning closely related with the concept of place, i.e. the outside means a place far away from the inside. A man becomes an inhabitant of some place as he defines the inside from the outside. With this relationship, his experience and memory is defined accordingly and the inside of the place becomes his individual inside. Therefore, the close relationship between the

16 identity and the place is established, especially as his personality is being shaped.” Schulz 1979: 59

In the place mentioned above, inhabitants define the interaction between insiders

and outsiders as well as its boundary. This norm identifies a local place. Common

experience, memory, and imagination that are influenced by personal identity are the tools

to form such a place. Then, process of recognition of individual’s identity is what establishes

the primary consciousness and recognize who the outsider is. The domain here becomes the

roots of the individual, the native land, which supports its inhabitants. Since it is explained

that the human orientation decides spatial structure rather than the place orientation,

Schulz makes it clear that the behavior of an individual defines a person’s perception of

place, instead of the fixed physical environment. So, it would not be wrong to indicate that

understanding the insiders’ perception of place should be the initial concern of planners and

urban designers.

The communication between the city, both as a whole and each of its component

parts from large to small, and the residents is reciprocal as a communication always is.

People see, smell, feel its surroundings while the environment speak to people. They provide

cues to behavior and these are the intended meanings of design. Moreover, each

environment provides a set of symbolic meanings that reflects the culture of the residents;

status, values, and lifestyles. In between this nonverbal communication, the designer has a role of encoder of meanings, while the user is the decoder (Rapoport 1977). If the encoder

and decoder don’t match, the code will not be resolved and serious problems may occur.

Hence it is important to have overlap between representations of space and

representational space to built meaningful urban spaces.

Figure 3. Desired Place-Making Process Source: Author

18 3. METHODOLOGY

The lived experience is both the source and the object of phenomenological

research. The overview of literature is therefore based on mostly phenomenologist scholars’

ideas. However, to capture the users’ meaning, the study needs to analyze their lived

experience. Existential-empirical method is the best fit to this phenomenological research

and the case study. The method requires searching everywhere in the lifeworld for lived-

experience material.

The comparison is between individual’s perceived world and designers’ conceived

environment. Designers while following an ideology introduce their ambitions and goals. If these ambitions overlap with inhabitants’ expectations from the place, the outcome is a meaningful place. Therefore, the data needs to include personal statements of both insiders

and outsiders. In this research, data is collected in four types;

• Survey: Surveys are made in Millennium Park with 15 users by the author in June

2006.

• Video recordings: The DVD of ‘7 Wonders of Chicago’ by Window to the World

Communications, Inc. was used for different types of information about the Park

such as its history, interviews with designers and officials; users’ opinions and

etc.

• Interviews: ‘7 Wonders of Chicago; includes interviews with the designers as well

as officials. Source was used to review the ideologies and ambitions of designers.

19 The other recording is Millennium Park Official Website’s interviews with users,

designers, and city officials.

• Newspaper articles: New York Times and Chicago Tribune online articles were

used to evaluate the impacts of Millennium Park. Chicago Tribune’s online forum

that indicates nicknames and home of origins of entries was asking “What do you

think about Millennium Park?” The entries were selected by author according to

the information given.

In Millennium Park, sculptures and architectural objects identify the character of the

Park. Therefore the outcome of the questionnaire is tested on separate objects of

Millennium Park by comparing conceived and lived spaces. There are five elements evaluated;

1. Pay Prietzker Pavilion

2. BP Bridge

3. The Cloud Gate

4. The Crown Fountain

5. The Lurie Garden

Each object’s physical characteristics are summarized by ID Cards that includes;

• Name

• Designer

20 • Year completed

• Owner

• Dimensions

• Capacity

The comparison table includes two columns;

• Designers’ ambitions

• Users’ expectations (Each person have a different way of expressing feelings.

That is why; this section will include two parts; the common comments that are

modified by the author and additional comments that are the exact expression

of their experiences).

The analysis will clarify the fundamental reasons for my hypothesis in this study; ‘to create meaningful public places, conceived and perceived spaces should overlap’.

21 4. CASE STUDY

4.1. Milennium Park, Chicago, IL

“A no place transformed into a grand place.” (Kamin 2004)

Following Burnham’s ideology, “Make No Little Plans”, Chicago became one of the architecture and public art capitals of the world, where people from all around the world share. To some this is the ‘second modern era’ of Chicago (Gilfoyle 2006; Pridmore and

Larson 2005). Reinvested urban space as a part of Burnham’s lakefront Grant Park of the

20th century is building a bridge between the past and the future of Chicago’s downtown under the name of Millennium Park. The theme and the location were ready to represent the new century.

Figure.4: Location of Millennium Park Source: City of Chicago Official Website

22 Undoubtedly Millennium Park has cultural hybridity right now as Gilfoyle (2006) states in his

book that carries the same name with the Park. There is not single theme embodied and

Millennium Park does not advertise any consistent message. Besides the design of the park,

it represents global art in the postindustrial age that avoids modernism’s inclination to

emphasize the artist’s self-expression. The artists, on the other hand, through the use of design elements like scale and color invite the inhabitants to react to their pieces. Even though the art encourages the individual expressionism of the modern movement, the observers interprets the art. Its design, process, price tag, and importance for the city have been argued several times in magazines, newspapers, and different online sources. In addition, it already started to take place in recent publications (Gilfoyle 2006; Pridmore and

Larson 2005). Since the opening day, July 2004, two years have passed and today its meaning for Chicagoans is continually developing.

Figure.5: Plan of Millennium Park Source: Millennium Park Official Website

23 4.2. Location and History

Overlapping histories of Grant Park and Millennium Park constitute more than the simple introduction of nature into the urban form. Both Parks reflects the influence of the pastoral ideals and parks’ movement overtime. While Grant Park is a product of City

Beautiful movement, Millennium Park seems as the outcome of the ‘second modern era’.

They both embody transportation innovations that define the 19th and 20th century and even the 21st century. In addition, both park spaces exemplify places of civic, public, and artistic activity. Thus; they represent changing ideas of culture in Chicago.

MICHIGAN AVENUE

MILLENNIUM PARK

Figure.6: Location of Millennium Park in Grant Park Source: Millennium Park Official Website

The site currently occupied by Millennium Park was under the control of Illinois

Central Railroads from the 1850s until the late 20th century. Burnham's 1909 Plan of

Chicago left the property as it was because of the importance of the railroads, considering it as untouchable. Therefore; he developed Grant Park around it. The first completed part were the narrow strips between Michigan Avenue and the railroad tracks extending from

24 Randolph Street to 11th. The construction that began Grant Park in 1917 included the original Peristyle in its place as it stands today, on the corner of Michigan Avenue and

Randolph Street. With the completion of Grant Park, the railroad area remained blighted in its corner. Four Chicago civic groups proposed the "Lakefront Gardens for the Performing

Arts" in 1977. This proposed park with a performing arts pavilion could not be completed because it lacked a funding strategy and government support. Finally, civic groups and the

Chicago Park District compromised with the Petrillo Music Shell.

Figure.7: Lakefront Chicago before Millennium Park was built Source: Millennium Park Official Website

In 1997, when Mayor Richard M. Daley directed his staff to develop plans, he encouraged his staff to search for a new music venue to be built over the active tracks and surface parking lot. One of the main goals of these plans was to transform the unsightly railroad tracks and parking lots that had long dotted the lakefront under the name of

Millennium Park in 1998. Mayor Richard M. Daley's vision and Frank Gehry's involvement evolved the project into one of the most ambitious projects. Today, with its unprecedented

25 combination of art, architecture, and landscape design, the 24.5 acre Millennium Park has become the crowning achievement for Chicago in the tradition of its original founders.

4.3. Locale

The physicality of the Park has been argued by many professionals as well as locals.

The extraordinary design features of Millennium Park is no doubtfully provides attraction.

However, besides its futuristic and extreme characteristics, the orientation of the organization of the Park needs to be examined according to the needs of users. ‘Projects for

Public Spaces’ (PPS) indicated Millennium Park as one of the other ‘60 Great Public Spaces’ in the world as a result of an examination of William Whyte’s recommendations for a successful urban open space. The article written by Joellen Sbrissa (2005) states the reasons of its success as the public art pieces, gardens, a music pavilion, and it is availability to everybody without any charge. While its accessibility by foot, public transportation, auto, and bike ways found as an important factor for its success, its location on the Loop of downtown Chicago by the lakefront, and on the intersection of Michigan

Avenue and Randolf Street, mentioned as another. The image and comfort of the Park attracts all kinds of people with different ages, cultures and interests. The variety of activities provides something to interest visitors as well as locals. With its design elements, it seems like the Park as a whole passed ‘The Whyte Test’.

Figure.8: Overview of Millennium Park Figure.9: Overview of Millennium Park Source: Millennium Park Official Website Source: Author

In an urban public place like Millennium Park, it is important to analyze the objects separately given that they all offer different activities and provide different type of memories and experiences. According to the survey results and Chicago Tribune online message board, the most popular fixtures in the Park are the Jay Prietzker Pavilion, BP Bridge, The

Crown Fountain, The Cloud Gate, and The Lurie Garden. But, there are many other amenities such as the McDonalds Bike Station, Boeing Galleries, Wrigley Square and Millennium

Monument, the ice rink, Exelon Pavilions, Harris Theater and so on. Other amenities will be analyzed shortly while the most popular elements are examining briefly.

4.3.1. Jay Pritzker Pavilion

“How do you make everyone – not just the people in the seats, but people sitting 400 feet away on the lawn – feel good about coming to this place to listen music? And the answer is, you bring them into it. You make the proscenium larger; you build a trellis with a distributed sound system. You make people feel part of the experience.” Frank Gehry (Gilfoyle 2006:108)

Figure.10: Jay Prietzker Pavilion Figure.11: Jay Prietzker Pavilion night view Source: Author Source: Millennium Park official website

Jay Pritzker Pavilion is, without a doubt, one of the most famous architecture pieces

not only in Chicago but also in US and even in the world. Not to react to its scale, color, and

appearance is almost impossible. Frank Gehry, National Medal of Art winner designer,

expresses his attitude in his design as a traditionalist when it comes to history; even though

the users think in the opposite way. He says, “You can’t ignore history; you can’t escape it

even if you want to.” His respect to the past of the Grant Park and the art of the 17th century

Dutch masters is clear on his inspiration source; Johannes Vermeer’s painting ‘Woman With a Water Jug’. Gehry and Webb took on the challenge of transforming two-dimensional elements found in Vermeer into the three-dimensional design of Pavilion (Gilfoyle 2006).

Figure.12: Jay Prietzker Pavilion during a concert Figure.13: Jay Prietzker Pavilion from the BP Bridge Source: Millennium Park official website Source: Author

28 In addition to the site’s attachment to the history of Grant Park and the lakefront, the

Pavilion offered Gehry a chance to demonstrate how a tangible, physical structure captures

and reflects an intangible, auditory entity like music. “Can the shape of music venue

embody –not just contain- music itself?” (Gilfoyle 2006:224). The architects’ expression

about his design ambition is directly rely on creating a meaning for people; “I just sort of let

it unfold and meet with the people and then try to meet their expectations as best I can”

(Gehry Interview - Gilfoyle 2006:224).

Many observers perceive the Pavilion in two separate parts; the Concert Venue and

the Great Lawn. The design team realized the unpleasant participation of the audience and

the stage in previous designs of Pavilion of Grant Park or other examples in the history. Their

initial ambition, therefore, was creating “the feeling of a space shared with performance”

(Gilfoyle 2006:226) and this is how the idea of the Great Lawn came up. According to them,

this was a way of giving sense-of-place to the users:

“Hanging the speakers with a travois creates space and I think that in the context of Chicago with all the buildings surrounding, it’s nice to crate a sense-of-place for people sitting on the loans; so they feel like they are a part of the stage, a part of the performance.” Frank Gehry (Gilfoyle 2006: 110)

Figure.14: Speakers of the Great Lawn Figure.15: The Great Lawn Source: Author Source: Author

The steel web, as it is referred to by many users, not only serves as a visual attachment to

the stage, but also supports the sound system and aims to give a feeling of being on the

stage with the performers. As a result, the Great Lawn, following Schulz’s recommendations for creating a meaningful place, follows the roots of his past, has a natural attachment to the nature with the lawn, and lets people to see and to hear the performance as best as

they can.

The lawn now serves as an old-fashioned meadow, a passive park space where people picnic, read a book, throw a Frisbee or a baseball, or just stare up at the sky (or the

skyline) through the domelike steel trellis. Gehry’s dynamic baroque style though often

seemed as chaotic, offering a respite from the crowd and the participation of hundreds to

the art pieces around when there isn’t any performances.

The users have many different reactions to Gehry’s masterpiece. They already named

it as a Silver Lion which I am not sure if following a writer; but from whatever source, they

already accepted the name and it is known as the Silver Lion and the Web, or the Steel Web,

in public. Since they already named it, it must have been accepted as a meaningful,

pleasant place to be. However it is important to see their expressions about their Silver Lion

and the Steel Web (Table.2).

JAY PRITZKER PAVILION Frank Gehry, Design Partner Designers Craig Webb, Project Designer Year Completed Jun-04 Owner City of Chicago Dimensions 120 ft high Concert Hall: 4000 fixed seats Capacity The Great Lawn: 7000 people Table.1: Jay Prietzker Pavilion ID Card Source: Millennium Park Official Website (2004)

Users' comments Designer's ambitions Nicknames: Silver Lion; the Great Lawn; Steel Web; Thunderclouds; Band Shell be the concept of millennium in a Very futuristic; a place for Gehry's a maniac - his building is very cosmopolitan city everybody impossible to not stare at. be the symbol of Chicago Spectacular architecture Brilliant and provocative… It looks scary at first but inviting; be honest and random; represent An unforgettable listening once you get closer it gets better the chaos of cities of democracy experience and better You are on the grass; watching a create sense-of-place for people Sound system is great; I feel like concert. That's everything makes sitting on the loans regardless of music is in me; open and clear sense to me; nature and music. their nationality Makes me feel free

Wanted it to … After about 50 years at the have roots with its history predecessor parks, it was quite a Good to be in Grant Park again change I can go to the concerts with the define the open space with the You are there, a part of it; but you kids and watch them easily when web are not at the same time they think they are free; they are either inside the web or outside. I expected pretty much the Do people's frisbees hit the trellis? try to meet the expectations of outcome; the concept is I'm such a spaz, I'd probably get people Millennium mine stuck there somehow. be exuberant, energetic, and Visually too crowded; doesn't Will the thunderclouds provide festive match with all events shelter in the rain? Table.2: Comparison of ambitions and comments Jay Prietzker Pavilion Source: Author

4.3.2. BP Bridge

Figure.16: BP Bridge’s connection to the Figure.17: Overview of the BP Bridge Grant Park Source: Millennium Park official website Source: Author

The originally designed in ‘Z’ form bridge built after the Pavilion by the same designers, Gehry and Webb. The shape transformed into an S form with a little slope, a snakelike shape, to create easy handicapped accessibility. The result is a bridge that begins and ends in different levels available and accessible to everybody. This distinct metal-wood construction is Gehry’s first bridge and reflects his urbanism. The primary ambitions were, once again, based on history and nature. The bridge is not only a connection from

Millennium Park to the Grant Park; it also connects the natural elements in both sides while relying on the tree canopy of Grant Park. When the design of Lurie Garden was adapted to the plan, the west ramp of the bridge was altered to coincide with the garden’s seam.

Moreover, the design’s respect to nature also can be seen in the material choice; metal and wood. It is a gradual transformation from the futuristic shiny metal pieces of Millennium

Park to the soil colors of Grant Park with the steel outskirt and sand color wood floor.

Another important goal for Gehry was also about the sound again; he used the bridge as a barrier from the noise of Columbia Parkway.

Figure.18: A view from the Bridge Figure.19: BP Bridge with its users Source: Author Source: Millennium Park official website

The users mostly like the experience of walking on a snake-bridge; however, the bridge doesn’t get as much attention as the other Gehry piece, The Pavilion. Although the design features that are fluidity, continuous motion, and sculptural abstraction are appreciated by the inhabitants, not all of them accepted. The users seem to evaluate a bridge a structure for connection and in 21st century’s fast world, time consuming structures

are not preferred to beauty. It doesn’t mean that BP Bridge is not conceived as it was

perceived. However the survey proves that the acceptance of the Silver Snake has not been

decided yet.

BP BRIDGE Designer Frank Gehry Year Completed Jul-04 Owner City of Chicago Dimensions 925 ft long; 5 percent slope Table.3: BP Bridge ID Card Source: Millennium Park Official Website (2005)

Users' comments Designer's ambitions Nickname: Silver Snake If it wouldn’t shiny, it would be difficult to realize that there is a bridge to the Woven together by the tree canopy It is an experience in itself other side of the highway from the Grant Park be a connection the park with Nice way to go to lakefront That bridge looks really great Grant Park remind a river that flows directly People look like they are on a roof, I ‘Go with the flow' bridge Wanted it to… into a real river like it I would prefer a direct pass to the other side; I guess I am lazy and visually fit in the context of It's fun to walk on for kids but not function comes first; but of course I architecture of Chicago always for me use it because there isn’t any other shorter way for my daily routine be a barrier to traffic noise N/A A bit jarring and out of place Table.4: Comparison of ambitions and comments of BP Bridge Source: Author

4.3.3. The Crown Fountain

“I am not looking for similarities but differences, since it is in an understanding of them the strength of the 21st century lies.” Jaume Plensa (Gilfoyle 2006:124)

Figure.20: Overview of the Crown Fountain Figure.21: Public participation Source: Gilfoyle 2006 Source: Author

Gilfoyle (2006) describes the function of the Crown Fountain as “The pool and the towers not only encourage pedestrians to cross the plaza and “walk on water”, but transform the fountain into a downtown piazza and meeting point.” I assume it cannot be explained better why it attracts many people at a time. The inspiration of the artist, Jaume

Plenza, is the people of Chicago (Richard Gray Gallery Artist Representation 2005). The fountain has been taking the attention with its scale, gargoyles, and the pool since the first

day of the opening of the Millennium Park. While scale fights against with the other art

pieces in the Park to symbolize the 21st century’s Park, the faces referencing to the

traditional use of gargoyles in fountains. This combination of past and future is already

invites people to discover what this sculpture is besides its natural element, water.

The spitting faces made some people react as “awesomely creepy” which I took as

confusion of distinct feelings with a higher degree of desire to participate. In addition, I

heard people talking about waiting to see one of their friends on the sculpture one day when

I visited the park in June 2006. Besides, even though this is my assumption, I would like to

mention my observation that these two people didn’t really seem to know each other.

Plensa’s initial ideology was to create “a meeting place where once people came to obtain

water, the substance of life, exchanged ideas, learned of each other’s accomplishments,

consoled one another in their loses” (Richard Gray Gallery Artist Representation 2005). His

success based on the combination of historical roots of human existence and the

orientation of natural elements. Him following the gargoyle’s with locals’ faces and bringing

all of them together with an irresistible element for human beings, water. That is what really

creates a social attraction as it did in the history for years. He symbolized the life in a sculpture without separating the evolution of man.

Figure.22-23-24: Splitting faces Source: Author

“’Is the water cool?’ a woman sitting on one of the benches asks a little girl, who dries herself off after running through the fountain ‘"I don't think I can come back to work wet.’ Parks work best when they give people lots of choices about what kind of spaces to inhabit -- action-filled or contemplative, grand or intimate.”

(The Millennium Park effect; Chicago Tribune June 26, 2005)

The importance of faces is one thing, and their movements, mimics, and color changes are another. By using the high technological systems of 21st century, once again

Plensa brought the past and future together in his sculpture. Even though the first impression of visitors is on the digital faces, definitely the second can be observed clearly when they realize that there is water coming out of the huge screens. However; some insiders are very upset about the effect of winter conditions of Chicago on the Fountain’s water function. After the opening day, which was in summer 2004 and the faces were spitting water, many people thought that the futuristic art piece would not function in winter.

Conversely, the fountain kept getting attention with the gargoyles and the lights effects at nights.

Figure.25: Public participation Figure.26: Public participation Source: Author Source: Millennium Park official website

Even though the artist hasn’t mentioned anything about the choice of such tall towers, it stands out for another way of building past-future bridge of urban form. In one way they define such a large plaza and express technological challenges. In another, its physical form and scale are representatives of a traditional fountain model in the shape of a skyscraper.

THE CROWN FOUNTAIN Designer Jaume Plensa Year Completed Jul-04 Owner City of Chicago Towers: 50 ft high Dimensions Pool: 232 ft long Table.5: The Crown Fountain ID Card Source: Millennium Park Official Website

Users' comments Designer's ambitions Nickname: The Fountain Late late at night the blocks are all great to watch people playing with Wanted it to be… a memory of nature; water illuminated and change color... it's water very beautiful Jaume Plensa describes the fountain area as a "silent and quiet sounds like seaside; kids place, with only the sound of water"; like the sound of a little river screaming, sun and water this place is crazy with screaming kids playing in the water during the weekend.

the origin of life; a meeting place where once people came to It reminds me the Manikin Piss, a obtain water, the substance Everybody plays, walks through, sculpture of a five year-old boy in of life, exchanged ideas, learned of people-watch, or just be here; I like Brussels, Belgium; it is always each other’s to see people doing the same crowded and I could never accomplishments, consoled one thing as me. That makes me feel understood why; but I understand another in their losses free and comfortable why this Fountain is always and celebrated their common crowded. humanity.

representing a cross section in Faces are funny; even when I It would be cool if they let you Chicago with the faces - 1000 come alone I people-watch; you record your own video and have it faces including all kinds of can see your friend anytime but displayed Chicagoans you don't know It looks a little different at night, and Everybody plays here; at least for urban playground for everybody without a bagillion kids running a minute around.

I think the city got less than it deserves from Jaume Plensa’s the new reference; it is far away Crown Fountain. Shouldn’t a multi- N/A from Buckingham Fountain million dollar commissioned work of public art take into account the climate it is being place in? Table.6: Comparison of ambitions and comments of the Crown Fountain Source: Author

4.3.4. Cloud Gate

“To a large extent, all work is incomplete. It’s completed by the person who is looking at it.”

Anish Kapoor (Gilfoyle 2006:143)

Figure.27: The Cloud Gate Figure.28: The Cloud Gate Source: Millennium Park official website Source: Author

Anish Kapoor, designer of the Cloud Gate, is probably one of the most humanistic

artists who have an art craft in Millennium Park. The elliptical, mammoth piece of public art

is one of the largest outdoor sculptures in the world. The visual bridge it builds between the

earth and the sky is what interest people besides the excitement of discovering their funny

faces on its concave shape. In addition, the opening along the underside invites observers

to interpret with the object; walk under and around the massive object. Kapoor is

differentiated for his paradoxical sculptures that simultaneously explore physical and psychological themes. His intensive and multipurpose art explores the universal

metaphysical polarities: “being and non-being, place and non-place, tangible and intangible”

(Gilfoyle 2006:261).

The sculpture named in many different ways by the observers; “jelly bean”, “silver bean”, “kidney bean”, “steel kidney”, and “tear drop”. Apparently, the common name is “the

Bean” even though the artist calls it the Cloud Gate. Richard Gray, the art committee member, predicted that the sculpture would become a Chicago icon and “going to knock everybody’s socks off” (Richard Gray Galleries Official Website 2005). The changing finish, the multiple reflections, the seemingly evolving shape, and the interactive qualities are what make the Bean a magnet for people. The reason it is called a gate by Kapoor is explained as an imagined, visual path to sky and the skyscrapers from the ground; it reflects the surrounding landscape. (Gilfoyle 2006). The Chicago public art committee chair, Michael

Lash’s words explains the purpose of the sculpture better than ever; “When you are standing around it, it’s picking up the sky and bringing the sky down to you, and then it’s actually warping the skyline of what’s behind you, and you are also reflected in that….You cannot

‘not be’ in the sculpture” (Gilfoyle 2006:263).

Figure.29: View from the inside Figure.30: View from outside Source: Author Source: Author

“What I wanted to do in Millennium Park is make something that would engage the Chicago skyline…so that one will see the clouds kind of floating in, with those very tall buildings reflected in the work. And then, since it is in the

form of a gate, the participant, the viewer, will be able to enter into this very deep chamber that does, in a way, the same thing to one's reflection as the exterior of the piece is doing to the reflection of the city around.”

Anish Kapoor (Gilfoyle 2006:148)

Kapoor, also, followed the historic context of Grant Park with its identifiable purpose; a gate to the sky. The combination of history and nature are the key explicit words for his sculpture as it was in Gehry’s and Plensa’s works. He explains the underlying spirit of his art as “Making art isn’t an intellectual or theoretical activity, it’s deeply rooted in the psychological – in the self (Gilfoyle 2006:264). He believed in producing work out of its material concerns; his focus is on experience, passion, emotions – psychology of humans.

Perhaps the best way to describe the feeling of the Bean, and maybe his other sculptures, is in-betweenness (curiosity) and participatory experience (attraction).

Figure.31: Public participation Figure.32: Public participation Source: Friends of the Parks official website Source: Author

Obviously The Cloud Gate has the sensitivity of the Outsider and it is conceived as it is and became a lived experience with no difference than what the perceiver expected.

Observers discover it hours and hours and the joyful moments bring them back to it and explore even more. It is a sculpture that you can find something different every time you

visit; different colors of the sky, reflection of your face from several angles, color scheme of

towers around, moving clouds and so on. The activity taking place in, under or around the

bean is the taking of pictures after observing the variety of scenes. People like to capture

the moment they enjoy. One of the critiques of the Bean, which is related to the

management of the Park, is the permission of photography. In Chicagoist, a website about

Chicago published a comment on February 17, 2005:

“Let’s recap: We can all take pictures in Millennium Park, and for the time being, professional photographers and student photographers don't even need a permit. The “enhancements” in Millennium Park are copyrighted, so we’ll keep that in mind if we are a photographer who wishes to publish images of said works…..Whew! Now that we’re all clear… get your shiny bean shirts now! They’re soon to be a collector’s item!”

Andrew Peerless 2005

Figure.33: Public participation Figure.34: Public participation

Source: A visitor Source: Author

Another critique is about maintenance of the Cloud Gate. Users do not like the Bean being covered for so long and they are already frustrated with the fact that it took so long for them to see the final product in its location in Millennium Park. There are two interesting

comments I read about the concern I would like to mention: (1) In Northwestern University

Medill School of Journalism’s News Service online newspaper, Nicole E. Frehsee (May

17,2005) wrote about the impacts of Millennium Park on tourism and real estate and

directed the attention to the complaints of the users. One of the most interesting ones was about the disappearance of the Bean; “You've heard of beans causing stomach aches, but headaches?” The other interesting complaint I found was again in Chicagoist website in an article named ‘The Slutty Bean’ by Sam Bakken (May 25, 2005) that is about uncovering the

Cloud Gate; “The Cloud Gate sculpture has finally started her striptease.”

CLOUD GATE Designer Anish Kapoor Year Completed Summer 2005 Owner City of Chicago 110 tons Dimensions 33' high x 42' wide x 66' long Table.7: The Cloud Gate ID Card Source: Millennium Park Official Website (2005)

Users' comments Designer's ambitions Nickname: The Bean Once I spent almost an hour to It is awesome to discover different engage observers with Chicago's place my face's reflection on a scenes of the skyscrapers and skyline skyscraper; it was stupid but I other things from the Bean enjoyed it. It is like being in a funny mirror to bring together the reflection of rooms in a fair, I see myself in I like taking pictures of all kinds of self, skyline, and sky weird shapes and I am faces of people on the Bean everywhere; it is funny, joyful Lying underneath is really like a gate, I see everything at the same I only saw her reflection and thought hold and capture the skyline with level; if this is the reason of the she was Spider-Woman or Wanted it to … the ground design, I can say that it is very something! successful I can be next to it, under it, and - It is a way too big and shiny; doesn't interpret with people to be kind of- above it; I can touch it and match with the concept of Grant completed its not too hot or cold; everybody Park; it only gets along with the should experience this unpleasant high towers around it It is interesting for now, of course, because it is new. I don't think there give sense of being in the sky at N/A will be a crowd like this in a decade the same level with skyscrapers and it will be loss of money and space on an important location Table.8: Comparison of ambitions and comments of Cloud Gate Source: Author

4.3.5. The Lurie Garden

"The Lurie Garden is a design inspired by Chicago's distinct natural and cultural history."

Kathryn Gustafson (Gilfoyle 2006:162)

Figure.35: Plan of the Lurie Garden Source: Millennium Park official website

Maybe the most daring element of Millennium Park is the Lurie Garden that softens the solidity of shiny metal color scheme of the park. It engages the park with colorful flowers and adds more green. Everyday users agree that it is a pause in the park where they can find a private place in a crowded day of the Park. The design narratives were based on the historical and cultural context of Chicago and each part in the Garden follow a mystical story.

However it is not well known by the users, therefore, not appreciated as much. The overall

design represents the transformation of the City’s flat and marshy origins to a bold and

powerful image. The Extrusion Plaza that is a part of the circulation system of Millennium

Park is a reference to the industrial era of the site while the Shoulder Hedge stands out for

‘Big Shoulders’ of the Chicago. The Hedge’s metal framework holds several types of plant

material into one monumental feature while enclosing the interior Garden from the north

and west. West Hedge’s story based on classical Greek story but supports the Light Plate,

the futuristic theme of the Garden. Light Plate is a reference to Chicago’s modern and

artistic control of nature that provides a bright and clean but controlled landscape. On the

other hand, Dark Plate is a nostalgic, mysterious and cool expression of the early landscape

history of the site and the city. The theme of the Plate contrasts with the current elevation

and form of Millennium Park. The Seam is a transition between two plates; it is a casual

break where the past and future of Chicago (Millennium Park Official Web Site 2006).

Figure.36: A view from inside Figure.37: View of the Pavilion from the Lurie Garden Source: Millennium Park official website Source: Millennium Park official website

Even though the Garden gets positive comments from outsiders, according to the

survey results insiders have not decided about how to ‘live’ the space. Most of the comments show that users pleased with more colors in the park and isolation from the other

hyper activities around Millennium Park. On the other hand, some responses agree that such isolation is too much for the Garden to be recognized and invite people. Another

critique of the insiders is also related to high level of isolation, feeling of being in prison with

too mush enclosure created by trees.

LURIE GARDEN Gustafson Guthrie Nichol Ltd. - Designer Kathryn Gustafson, Tim Dusholf, Robert Israel Year Completed Jun-04 Owner City of Chicago Dimensions 2.5 acres Table.9:1 Lurie Garden ID Card Source: Millennium Park Official Website (2005)

Users' comments Designer's ambitions Nickname: N/A I didn't want to go there in my first city's transformation from flat and It is great for my lunchbreaks to couple of visits to MP but once I marshy origins to bold and escape from the city for a while entered the colorful atmosphere powerful city amazed me

(west hedge) be the futuristic It is the future of gardening; it has Gives me a space where I can enjoy theme of the garden to be, it is in MP. my book in a nice environment

A person can easily forget that he bring the natural elements into the It is a great colorful break in is in the heart of a very busy steel- millennium's concrete world between all the shiny stuff n-glass city express the early landscape The trees made me feel like in Wanted it to … It’s breathtaking! history of the city with dark plate prison. render the future with light plate N/A You'r bloody lucky to be there! (Seam) a place to sacually stroll where the past and the future of N/A It takes you back in time Chicago meets. (shoulder hedge) represent the N/A Disconnected from the park "City of Big Shoulders" Nobody knows the story behind Baronial garden style inspired from very beautifully landscaped, but idea of each section and I learnt it Chicago's cultural and natural completely disconnected from the from a lady working there; it is history rest of the park amazing Table.10: Comparison of ambitions and comments of Lurie Garden Source: Author

50 4.3.6. Additional Amenities

Certainly, one of the most important features of a successful public place is the

accessibility that is supported by the transportation system of the city. The central location

of the Park that is at the intersection of the two main alters and being on top of the railroads

and a garage provides several options for vehicular accessibility. The pedestrian circulation

is also has been supported in many ways since Burnham’s plan. City of Chicago has recently

released a new Bike Plan for the City (City of Chicago Official Web Site 2006) and the

McDonalds Cycle Center in Millennium Park is a part of it. The Bicycle Station in the Park is

the nation’s first bicycle parking commuter station that serves a major event venue and a

multimodal transit center (Gilfoyle 2006). The station comfort the riders with lockers,

showers, a snack bar with outdoor summer seating, bike repair, bike rental and other

amenities while encouraging them to the park and other downtown locations. There are 300 bike parking facility available in the Cycle Center of Millennium Park located on a 16,448 square foot with an environmental friendly building. 200 of the parking facilities are already sold to memberships two weeks after the opening of Millennium Park (Gilfoyle 2006).

Figure.38-39: McDonalds Bike Station Source: Millennium Park official website

Another attraction is the Ice Rink that transforms to an outdoor café in spring and

summer. Critiques show that Whyte’s observation about Grant Park in 1978, “trouble with

Grant Park is not so much what the park has got as what it hasn’t got enough of – people”,

is succeeded with the existence of Millennium Park and the outdoor café-ice rink is a big

support (Gilfoyle 2006). 16,000-square-foot McCormick Tribune Plaza offers free entrance

to the rink and rental skates.

Figure.40-41: Ice Rink Source: Millennium Park official website

The Millennium Park in the Wrigley Square is a representative of Edward Bennett’s peristyle in 1909 (Gilfoyle 2006). The new peristyle is a smaller version of it because of the disability access to the square. Size is not the only difference from the old design; also the fountain in Bennett’s proposal is separated from the monument to increase the activity opportunities and enable pedestrians to sit along the entire perimeter.

Figure.38-39: Wrigley Square Source: Millennium Park official website

4.3.7. Sense-of-Millennium Park

Millennium Park is an urban park with multiple meanings in a multi-cultural urban context. It provides a colorful illustration of intersecting relationship of art and architecture.

It has begun to accomplish its social promise, a widely used public space (Table.11). The park seems to be gaining in popularity, rather than short attention duration of tourists. An enhanced benefit of Millennium Park is its effect on the self esteem of the residents of the

Chicago region. They now have another destination for friends, visitors and it is free. Even though it has only been two years since its opening, the number of users and estimations prove that it is a distinctive urban open space.

Year Number of visitors 2004 (Jul-Dec) 1.5 million 2005 2.8 million Table.11: Attendance in Millennium Park Source: Crain’s Chicago Business Research 2005

I would like to use inhabitants’ own words to describe what Millennium Park’s offers to its users. 12 out of 15 users answered this question in a different way. Millennium Park certainly means something to its users and for each individual expression of this feeling varies. To its users, Millennium Park is a place to…

1. hang out and relax

2. be free

3. have lunch or escape from work

4. bring friends and visitors

5. people-watch

6. enjoy the weather

7. have picnic, play Frisbee, and just chill

8. read a book

9. entertain; (I would prefer it to a circus and it’s free)

10. bring my grandkids

11. meet with friends and their friends and their friends…

12. gossip

MILLENNIUM PARK Designer City of Chicago Year Completed July 2004 Owner City of Chicago Dimensions 24.5 acre Capacity N/A Table.12: Millennium Park ID Card Source: Millennium Park Official Website 2004

Comments Ambitions Nickname: MP; M-Park Chicagoans are fortunate to have a I just wanted a better view than the park that's as big and beautiful and renovate the ugliness of railroads ugly railroads but I didn't expect forward-thinking as it's marvelous this much. past.

Grant park needed revitalization, as did the loop. I just Saw it being built. It is nice, but wanted/expected the lakefront to there was already a park there! be more vibrant be the reinvestment of lakefront I regret that what had been a and Grant Park I thought it was going to be a new relaxing green space is now a home for the bums. I was wrong; it circus-like mob scene. This city has is home for everybody. already has a problem with noise Wanted it to … pollution, especially along the lake front. Nothing against beauty..but my first I hoped (rather than expected) to be a park-building project reaction was 'what real purpose see an urban achievement… does it serve? My friends and I have been following this development for a We are lucky to have a park that long time. We wanted it to our new promotes expanding one's mind create cultural venue hang-out place. We were sick of through music, art, architecture and old places, we needed something for keeping our culture strong new. (A Spanish resident of downtown Chicago) I knew it was gonna be another I work just across the street and be the enhancements of the park Sears Tower effect. So I expected watched this being built - it is 21st century something BIG! awesome!!!

I watched the constructions everyday from my office and at first I was worried about the design. I don’t know what I expected but This park will put us on the map for after the first walk through the park decades -if not centuries- to come. and seeing the design from different angles, I have concluded that it is beautiful. I have been won over. Sometimes, I think Chicago beats Clearly this is moving Chicago the !@#$ outta NYC when it comes forward into the 21st Century to architecture...sometimes... When I first read about it I thought defend symbols of Chicago it was going to be an extension of Grant Park but it is detraction from Chicago is a world-class city, and that, from our view of the lake and this is a world-class attraction the skyline. This cannot symbolize Chicago. Table.13: Comparison of ambitions and comments of Millennium Park Source: Author and Chicago Tribune Forum (2005)

Comparison of the goals of city officials and the expectations of inhabitants

(Table.13) show that there is a considerable overlap between the ambitions and

anticipations. The location and the previous conditions of the site and the lakefront were

serious problems for the downtown Loop area that established shared concerns from city

officials, residents, and scholars. In addition, the need for revitalization in Grant Park was

noticed by users as well. Edward Uhlir, assistant to Mayor Daley and Project Director for the

Millennium Park, stated that they wanted it to be a ‘park-building project’ in the interview

that was issued in ‘7 Wonders of Chicago’ (2005). The statement is dedicated as not clear

by the observers and the common understanding was a combination of the concept of park

combined with many structures in it. Naturally there was not a clear response. On the other hand, residents were surprisingly sensitive about creating a cultural venue in Millennium

Park. They were aware of the fact that a successful public space in a crucial location in downtown would support cultural esteem as well as individual’s well-being. Furthermore; art, music and architecture’s encouragement on well-built sense of community is recognized and appreciated by the users. Apparently also the residents expected something extraordinary from the Park because of its concept, new millennium. As a result, ambitions and expectations were equivalent and meaning of Millennium Park was ready to be created by lived experiences.

Several art and architecture pieces that Millennium Park possesses help to attract large variety of people. Offering several cultural and personal expectations from a place is a

difficult task to succeed. Millennium Park is considered as not only an urban park but also a

theme park by professionals because of these artworks. There is not a single theme of the

park even though it is named as Millennium and expected to be futuristic. Each concept the

Park provides by different elements satisfy distinct cultural needs. To sum up, it would be wrong to indicate a single sense and/or meaning for Millennium Park. The common concept is Millennium, a vision for future, and it has been built by using the roots of history. There is a place for everybody in Millennium Park. That is how the City and the designers aimed to answer personal needs of users with distinct cultural backgrounds.

5. FINDINGS & CONCLUSION

Personal preferences that are shaped by culture and society affect the type of

experience and therefore the meaning of the place for its users. In 21st century multi-cultural

societies designing meaningful places is a difficult task. While reviewing literature on how to

create meaningful places, first ‘use’ was declared as a condition to become a successful

public place Second, I mentioned that meaning is a requirement for public places to be

vibrant and, finally, I stated that there must be an overlap between the perception of place

of outsiders and insiders to create meaningful public places.

First of all, Millennium Park has been a vibrant public place since its opening day

(Figure.44). Since the users define the Park in many different ways, it is clear that the place

has different meanings for each user. The Park’s several activities and the considerable

overlap between ambitions and expectations ended up with a successful public place.

However, it would be wrong to indicate a single or couple of meanings for Millennium Park.

Each user and each designer influenced from their background, which differentiate from each other.

Visitors per Year

36.5 40

20 (millions) 10 1.5 2.8 Number of people people of Number 0 2004 2005 2015 (Exp.)

Figure. 44: Millennium Park attendance59 Source: Craig’s Chicago Business (2005)

Reviewing the designers’ ideologies showed me that there are common interests to which all the artists paid attention. All the artists are worldwide known and successful designers; they constitute a very international team. They all have different cultural and personal backgrounds and therefore different influences. Those common principles are interesting to be considered for future practices. Moreover; most of them were not mentioned by users either in the survey or in the forum. However; it is clear that when these philosophies are practiced successfully in design, the users get attempted to manifest the place (Table 14). The common ideologies that are historical roots, natural elements, cultural context, sense-of-being, and participation follows Schulz’s recommendations for creating a meaningful place. He pointed out orientation and identification, which are the results of a cultural and personal context, as the key factors. Moreover; his argument was man’s orientation is a way of finding a place for him in nature. Schulz’s study was published in

1980 and in 2004 Millennium Park designers repeat his ideologies.

The recent trends in art, architecture, planning, and urban design has been trying to go back to old styles and study what was successful before and modify it for present conditions. However in the example of Millennium Park the old trends were followed by extremely futuristic design elements. Therefore I would like to conclude the case study by pointing out these common elements that are relevant to basic human needs in urban life

(Table.15).

Jay Prietzker The Crown The Lurie Millennium Park BP Bridge The Cloud Gate Pavilion Fountain Garden Nature; Social enhancement; Symbolizm; Nature; Nature; History; Connection; History; Perceived Physical improvement; Sense-of-Place; History; Focal Symbolism; History; Nature Interpretation; Symbolism; History History; Nature point; Culture Culture Sense-of-Being Social enhancement; Conceived Physical improvement; Symbolism Social enhancement; Symbolizm; Nature; Focal Nature; Lived Physical improvement; Sense-of-Place; Connection Nature; Culture point; Culture Interpretation Symbolism History Table.14: Summary of perceived, conceived, lived Millennium Park Source: Author

Ideology Practice Respect to history Lessons from old Pavilion designs; respect to Grant Park's framework Jay Prietzker Pavilion Natural element Ground: Lawn - Great Lawn Participation / Sense-of-place Sound system - Steel Webb Respect to history Scale, slope, color Ground: Wood; transition of color scheme from Grant Park to BP Bridge Natural elements Millennium Park Humanity Disability access; feeling of flowing Fountain's function in history: Meeting and gathering place; social History of mankind interaction The Crown Fountain Natural elements Water Cultural context Faces of Chicagoans Sense-of-being Closeness to sky and skyline The Cloud Gate Natural element Sky - Ground Participation / Interpretation Reflections - Ability to discover from different sides: under, near, above Respect to history Symbolism - Story of historical stages of the City The Lurie Garden Natural Elements Plants Design philosophy of different sections - Symbolism with different Cultural context colors in different seasons - Colors of local plants and flowers

Table .153: Design ideologies and their practices in Millennium Park Source: Author

There is a theme in Millennium Park that leads the image. Thinking about a place

starts with the name initially and the example of Millennium Park shows that the designers as well as users got influenced by the name. In addition, Chicago’s architectural image and background gives opportunity to practices unexpected, unusual. Millennium Park is an extra ordinary example of reinvention of an urban open space, and a successful one.

In the 21st century when we face multi-cultural society and confused or hybrid

personal identities, designing for everybody is a difficult task. Thus creating a single

meaning for everybody is becoming almost impossible. Today’s urban culture requires

multiple meanings. Thus; multiple, modernist, and interesting activities that can attract variety of people needs to be created. On the other hand, there are natural and

psychological needs of human beings to survive and to enjoy life. Once the designer pays

attention to the nature -not only environmental friendly design but also interacting with

natural elements-, history –the city’s or neighborhood’s history as well as the human kind’s

history-, and psychological needs of human beings –sharing, participating, communicating

and so on-, the design is meaningful to everybody. Beauty and design is subjective; therefore

there will always be complaints about the final orientation of elements, colors, and shapes.

Especially in the time that economy and industry runs the world and influences people in

that manner, complains will be more than the design elements as it is seen in Millennium

Park example. The designers’ role should be paying attention to common needs and

expectations.

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