Futuristic Soldier Field concept urges Bears to stay in Chicago
Local architecture studio Edward Peck Design has proposed adding a translucent canopy to the Chicago Bears' stadium to convince the NFL team to stay in the city.
Edward Peck Design designed the concept stadium to meet the desires of the team for a next-generation stadium, with a roof, expanded seating and an entertainment complex.
The studio created the concept to demonstrate how the team could redevelop its current site and stay in the city.
Following pushback from conservationists contributed to the Chicago Bears abandoning plans to build a Manica Architecture-designed stadium slightly south of the current one, the team has seriously considered sites in the neighbouring state of Indiana.
"The Bears should stay"
"We're not looking to be the architect of the next Bears stadium, but everyone that you talk to in Chicago says the Bears should stay," studio founder Edward Peck told Dezeen. "They need to stay. This is the heart of Chicago."
"They're saying that's not possible at Soldier Field," said Peck. "I have an anonymous client who is a lifetime Bears fan who said, 'I don't believe them.'"
Peck, who is an expert in ETFE installation and has worked for architecture and engineering studios such as Helmut Jahn and Thornton Tomasetti, set out to show the feasibility of expanding the current Soldier Field complex.
This includes suspending a massive ETFE canopy over the field to enclose it, building on top of the modern 2002 addition to the 1920s stadium.
Around the complex, Peck and his team proposed a deck that would elevate an entertainment complex over the adjacent railyards and Lake Shore Drive.
Decking over Lake Shore Drive
The deck aligns with a plan put forward by developer Bob Dunn, and echoes the Chicago Park District's suggestion of capping the lake-side highway elsewhere along the park complex that lines Chicago's riverfront.
"The concept of decking over Lake Shore Drive and the rail station has been done," said Peck. "Millennium Park is a result of that."
"And so it's part of the language of Chicago now, and the future is to start to consider things like that," he continued.
On top of the decking would be a series of 50 to 65-storey skyscrapers with entertainment programmes on the lower floors. According to Peck, the skyscrapers would generate revenue for the city, while the ground floors could generate the team's desired revenue.
The district would also serve the adjacent museum district and convention centre, as well as the mass of residential buildings and office structures in the southern part of Downtown Chicago.
"You have this entertainment district that needs to succeed the other 357 days of the year that there isn't a football game, right? And so to do that, you have to have a critical mass of people," said Peck.
"Now they are considering the stadium in Aurora, which is like 30 miles north of the city, and in Indiana, which is like 30 miles southeast of the city – those locations are not going to be able to support it."
"I'm fearful of what this would do to this city"
Peck's team has pointed to both the Shed complex in Hudson Yards in New York and Miami's stadium renovation as precedents for this type of project.
Surrounding the stadium itself would be a plaza as well as additional restaurants and amenities, all covered by a "green carpet" that would reduce the amount of exposed concrete and blend the expanded complex into the park.
Peck also imagines a high-speed water taxi mooring to service the stadium.
He conceded that the deck and skyscraper portion could exceed a billion dollars in investment, but that the reuse of the stadium could allow for that portion to be built with as much as a 60 per cent reduction from a ground-up build.
"The goal is to open this dialogue and have the Bears be challenged a little bit," said Peck on his ambition for the proposal.
"This was a proof of concept. None of this stuff hasn't been done before. It's, think, a creative way of looking at how you can accomplish the Bear's mission."
On top of that, Peck said that moving the Chicago Bears from Soldier Field would throw into question the financial future of the historic stadium.
"The fact is, if you have an enclosed stadium a quarter mile away, or even if it's in northwest Indiana, it's going to be taking the winter concerts, take away that revenue," he said.
"I'm fearful of what this would do to this city."
Multiple Indiana municipalities have already put in bids for the stadium, and Bear's ownership and NFL officials are expected to make decisions about the team's future soon.
Other recent moves in the NFL include the Oakland Raiders moving to a purpose-built stadium in Las Vegas.
The images and video are by Edward Peck Design.
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