Ford Calumet Environmental Center

About the Ford Calumet Environmental Center
The Chicago Department of Environment (DOE) and the State of Illinois have partnered to develop and build the Ford Calumet Environmental Center. Its architectural significance is great. Pulitzer Prize-winning architecture critic, Blair Kamin recently listed the design, created by Jeanne Gang of Studio Gang Architects, as one of Chicago’s most important structures of the 21^st Century.
The Center will serve as a centralized resource for the region, hosting researchers, industry leaders, staff and students with a capacity to house visiting scholars and experts from around the world. More than 100,000 visitors are anticipated annually to take advantage of recreational and educational activities.It is to be located within Hegewisch Marsh, a 130-acre wetland currently undergoing ecological restoration. Hiking trails have been established, invasive species control is underway, extensive seeding of native plants has occurred and hundreds of native trees have been planted.

The Ford Calumet Environmental Center will:

• Create a living laboratory for environmental research and innovation and offer volunteer stewardship opportunities. Hundreds of volunteers have already pitched in to plant trees, clean up sites, monitor species, and assist scientists in the field
• Establish ongoing programs and interactive exhibits. The Center will partner with Chicago Public Schools and the Field Museum to enhance programming efforts.
• Show the value and impact of combining green technologies, strong community and industry with architectural design.
• Honor the hard work and commitment of community activists who have dedicated their lives to protecting the region’s open spaces through via oral and visual histories.

Key Features of the Center
Studio Gang’s award-winning design is both distinctive and ingenious. The design approach was dubbed “Best Nest” because it mimics the way that birds use local materials to construct their nests, just as the building will use salvaged materials from Calumet’s industrial past and present as its core building materials.

The Center will achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED™) platinum status. The design features more than 10,000 square feet of steel enclosed porches, overlooking prairie and native plant habitats. The building’s large auditorium will be used to host events, community and educational programs. FCEC will be carbon-neutral, achieve net zero emissions and will incorporate other green technologies, including:

• A waste water treatment system never before used in Illinois – a “Living Machine” indoor constructed wetland. The proposed system will treat wastewater via natural processes using plants, bugs, and microbes that work together to clean water and return it to the wetland. This would be Chicago’s first municipal building to not need a sewer connection. Visitors will be able to walk through the space, enclosed in a greenhouse.
• A green roof with solar panels and a stormwater collection system designed to collect and route 24,000 gallons of stormwater to an underground storage system that serves the Living Machine Wetland.
• A geothermal and earth tube system will draw upon the Earth’s temperature to heat and cool the structure - the first earth tube system in Illinois.
• A biomass boiler fueled by invasive plants such as buckthorn, turning an invasive species into heat.
• Innovative use of recycled steel, slag and wood. Recycled slag, the by-product of metal purification, will be made into terrazzo flooring.  Steel beams from former Calumet steel mills will serve as structural supports. Reused wood from post-Prohibition wine vats will be used for exterior siding and decking.
• Use of structural elements to prevent bird-building collisions by using recycled steel in the porch design to create a textured visual barrier that looks like a bird nest – and doubles as sculptural art. Patterns in exterior glass will also prevent strikes.
• Simple, good design sense. By making adjustments to design features such as the angle of the building is already 35% more efficient than traditional systems – not counting the specialized systems mentioned above.
• Green strategies will also extend into the adjacent 130-acre wetland, using recycled materials for signs, paths, boardwalks and other site amenities.

Building spaces include:

• Exhibit Space: Flexible exhibit space will serve a variety of visitor populations
• Auditorium: Serves as a space for lectures and conferences as well as a meeting place for local groups.
• Media Orientation Room: Provides visitors with media orientation to the Calumet region and the Center.
• Classrooms:
  • Classroom 1: for outdoor-to-indoor educational classes, arts and crafts, conferences and gatherings, contains two “wet” workstations, and has an audio visual system.
  • Classroom 2: a network-ready learning environment for educational classes, conferences and gatherings and has an audio visual system.
• Scientist Laboratory: Visiting scientists will use this work space for testing and analyzing specimens and samples.
• Staff and Volunteer Work Space: A communal staff office with computer workstations for seven plus a director’s office and conference room and workstations for volunteers.
• All-Purpose Children’s Room: This room will cater to parents with small children and is a space for reading, projects, and playing.

Sponsors
Funding for the FCEC has been provided by several major sponsors. The Ford Motor Company is providing major support for the building’s construction and programming. The City of Chicago and the State of Illinois are other sponsors. Chicago’s Environmental Fund CEF, a nonprofit organization, is providing additional funding and support. A fundraising campaign will find funding for the building, programs, and endowment for staffing.

For more information, please contact:

Jerry Attere, Project Assistant
email:   mailto:jerry.attere@cityofchicago.org
phone:  312.744.9136