COMPETITION :: Union Station 2020

The Chicago Architectural Club and the Chicago Humanities Festival announce UNION STATION 2020, an international design ideas competition for the conversion of Chicago’s Union Station into a high-speed rail hub, regional market, and meeting place. This year’s Burnham Prize competition forms part of Burnham 2.0: A Patchwork Plan for Chicago, a composite urban plan that marks the centennial of Burnham and Bennett’s Plan of Chicago.

UNION STATION 2020 asks for innovative solutions for the transformation of Union Station into a center of high speed rail traffic and related programs. It is not simply a question of designing an efficient and functional transit hub. How can this intermodal node become more than a mere knot of infrastructure? What role can this project play in the reconfiguration of Chicago’s West Loop and of the city and region? How can an existing landmark building be transformed to accommodate and generate a new combination of activities while welcoming an unprecedented level of rail traffic? How can we leverage infrastructure to produce other results, to shape the city and the public sphere? How can a point of exchange generate a regional culture? And what does ‘culture’ mean, anyway?

Prizes:
First Prize: $10,000
Second Prize: $3,000
Third Prize: $1,500
Up to 3 Honorable Mentions will be awarded.

The top ten entries, including all prize winners and honorable mentions, will be featured in the Burnham 2.0 exhibit to be held at the Chicago History Museum, opening November 8, 2009.

Results of the competition will be featured in the Chicago Architectural Club Burnham 2.0 publication.

Deadline:
Competitors may submit material online anytime between October 10, 2008 and October 15, 2008. Registration is open, and may be completed anytime before the deadline.

Entry Fee:
Professionals: $80
Students: $50 (with valid student ID card)