Pierscape reactivates the public realm of Chicago’s Navy Pier as a vibrant social and recreational space. As the architects on a team led by James Corner Field Operations, nARCHITECTS collaborated on the overall plan and designed new structures along the pier that merge building and landscape through strategies of reframing, integrating, and reflecting their surroundings.

Our architectural scope included larger structures that merge with the lakefront context and smaller structures that punctuate the 3,000-foot-long pier. A new centerpiece, the Wave Wall provides a grand stair, connecting the South Dock to the attractions on the plinth above, while providing a large social space with lake views and access to 30,000 square feet of retail spaces below. The Info Tower, conceived as a mini skyscraper, is a new urban beacon that mirrors the city skyline. Spaced along the pier, four Lake Pavilions mirror and frame views of the lake, bouncing its dappled light onto the publicly activated dock.

Client: Navy Pier Inc.
Location: Chicago, IL
Status: Completed
Dates: 2012 – 2016
Sq Footage: 3,000 ft-long pier (1km)
Program Architectural structures – Wave Wall, Info Tower, Lake Pavilions, and kiosks
Environmental: The first project to achieve Gold certification under the Sustainable SITES Initiative (SITES) v2 rating system

Design Team: Eric Bunge, Mimi Hoang | Marc Puig, Albert Figueras | Gabrielle Marcoux, Lily Zhang, Chris Grabow

Collaborators: Client: Navy Pier Inc. | Design Lead / Landscape Design: James Corner Field Operations | Structure: Buro Happold | MEP: Primera | Envelope: Simpson Gumpertz Hager | Local Consultant: Epstein | Lighting: L’Observatoire | Graphics/Identity: Pentagram

Photography: Iwan Baan, Sahar Coston-Hardy

Video: Hudson Lines