by ArchitectureWeek

In creating the Lurie Garden in downtown Chicago, Gustafson Guthrie Nichol Ltd transformed a parking garage rooftop into a public botanical garden. Located on three acres (1.2 hectares) in Millennium Park, a part of Grant Park, the garden combines engineered elements with native perennials of the Midwestern prairie.

"The landscape architect has created an oasis in the center of the city," said the jury for the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) in giving Lurie Garden the top award for general design in the 2008 ASLA Professional Awards. "It works on so many levels, no wonder people love it."

Other top honors in the 2008 awards program went to a residential garden in Ketchum, Idaho; an urban farm plan in New Orleans, Louisiana; and a landmark fountain in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Chicago Garden

Sited between Millennium Park's Great Lawn, with its Prizker Pavilion bandshell by Frank Gehry, and a new addition to the Chicago Art Institute by Renzo Piano, the Lurie Garden continues Grant Park's pattern of "rooms," with treed enclosures, perimeter circulation, and axial views.   >>>

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SUBSCRIPTION SAMPLE The Lurie Garden by Gustafson Guthrie Nichol Ltd is located in Chicago's Millennium Park, just south of the Prizker Pavilion and trellis designed by Frank Gehry. Photo: Gustafson Guthrie Nichol Ltd Extra Large Image A wide boardwalk and water feature divide the Lurie Garden, which was recently honored by the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA). Photo: Gustafson Guthrie Nichol Ltd Extra Large Image   Click on thumbnail images to view full-size pictures.