Ecological Consulting Firm offers Design and Installation of Sustainable Landscapes

Michigan Avenue "Fish Hotel"

“Wouldn’t it be great to provide a downtown habitat for fish in the Chicago River?” asked Friends of the Chicago River. With sides of concrete and steel, where fish prefer vegetated nooks and crannies, the river hasn't been the most hospitable. Enter WRD, which designed the first known “Fish Hotel.”

Navigating around a variety of design constraints, WRD developed a self-contained floating garden planted with native wetland vegetation that provides food and shelter for fish.

The sustainably designed structure, which won a 2007 GreenWorks Award from the City of Chicago, is a model for other fish habitats planned for the Chicago River.

Download Chicago Sun-Times and Pioneer Press articles about the Fish Hotel.

Learn more about this WRD project.

Buoyant dock material surrounds the fish habitat to keep it afloat. Chicken wire discourages waterfoul from eating the plants. Photo: Ernesto Huaracha