WRD Environmental Results Gallery, Community Spaces

Chicago Center for Green Technology, Chicago, IL

The City of Chicago is a leader of innovative environmental initiatives. It integrates sustainability into the places residents work, live learn and play, while preparing for a resilient future.

Goals

• Realize the mayor’s vision for the most comprehensive green-design educational resource in the Midwest

• Create an identity for this key gateway to Chicago’s greening initiatives

Sample Results

• Conversion of a brownfield – stacked with seven stories of illegally dumped debris – into a hub of educational programming, stewardship and green job training
• A model of sustainable practices, with green infrastructure improvements that include demonstration gardens using native plants, a wetland, bioswales, permeable paving – all enhanced with interpretive signage
• On-site stormwater management techniques that cleanse water and reduce total site runoff by 50%
• Eco-landscape features that helped the site become the nation's first rehabilitated municipal building to receive LEED Platinum certification
• Landscape design and management of installation that came in on time and on budget
• Establishment of the site’s identity through banners that incorporate brand symbols, a solar- and stormwater-powered fountain and a sculpture made of debris originally on site