Architect Woodhouse Wins Burnham Memorial Competition

Chicago's Museum Campus was created after a reconfiguration of Lake Shore Drive in 1998.
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A seven-member jury of landscape architects, academics and a representative of the park district voted for the designs of Chicago architect David Woodhouse.

The Woodhouse design for the open space of Chicago’s Museum campus would incorporate a sloping lawn, an extended two-foot high block of stone, two granite walls, a sculpture of Burnham and a curving wall with donor names and key figures in Chicago history.

The design competition was part of the 100th anniversary of the Plan of Chicago, co-authored by Burnham and Chicago architect Edward Bennett. That plan led to new lakefront parks and various public works.

Organizers of the competition envision the design built by 2011, but the money will have to be raised by private funding. The projected construction cost of the project is $5 million.

The Burnham Memorial project is controversial to the extent that some Chicagoans question the priority of design changes to the 11-year-old Museum Campus when the lakefront lacks, for instance, a Lake Shore Drive pedestrian crossing between Queens Landing and Buckingham Fountain.

The Woodhouse plan must win approval from the Chicago Park District’s board of commissioners and the Chicago Plan Commission.