Millennium Park
Before attending the American Society of Landscape Architects’ Expo in Chicago last fall, I arrived in town a couple days early to spend some quality time with my great friends and long-time WaterShapes contributors Suzanne and Ron Dirsmith, who live and work in Oak Park, a suburb famous for a number of Prairie-style homes designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The Dirsmiths, of course, are accomplished artists in their own right, having distinguished themselves with their work on
Back in September 2009, I took advantage of my annual trip to the American Society of Landscape Architects’ Expo by stretching things out with a few extra days in Chicago. I’ve always loved the city and was particularly excited by the thought of finally getting a chance to see Millennium Park in person. I’d heard and read a great deal about it, of course, and my interest went way beyond our coverage of
The Crown Fountain in Chicago's Millennium Park is an ingenious fusion of artistic vision and high-tech water effects in which sculptor Juame Plensa' s creative concepts were brought to life by an interdisciplinary team that included the waterfeature designers at Crystal Fountains. Here, Larry O'Hearn describes how the firm met the challenge and helped give Chicago's residents a defining landmark in glass, light, water and bright faces. In July last year, the city of Chicago unveiled its newest civic landmark: Millennium Park, a world-class artistic and architectural extravaganza in the heart of downtown. At a cost of more than $475 million and in a process that took more than six years to complete, the park transformed a lakefront space once marked by unsightly railroad tracks and ugly parking