CONSTRUCTED GROUND: The Millennium Garden Design Competition

by Charles Waldheim

In the shadow of the Art Institute of Chicago, a new garden is growing. "Constructed Ground" documents the international design competition for the new Millennium Garden that is being constructed just north of the Art Institute in Grant Park. Lavishly illustrated, the book presents drawings, models, photographs, and written descriptions of the ten entries, two finalists, and the commission-winning design. The winning project, selected by a jury of eminent design professionals, is the Shoulder Garden, designed by landscape architect Kathryn Gustafson, Dutch plant expert Piet Oudolf, and theatrical designer Robert Israel. The garden plays on the formal grid structure of Grant Park and the strong forms of Chicago's machines and architecture. A combination of sculpted hedges, constructed pavilions, colorful interior gardens, and enclosed groves, the Shoulder Garden creates a canopied refuge and meeting place in the midst of the city. The Millennium Park will include not only the Shoulder Garden but also Frank Gehry's Music Pavilion and Renzo Piano's addition to the Art Institute. A contemporary design on a historic site, the Shoulder Garden brings Chicago's lakefront boldly into the new century with an innovative landscape unlike anything built in North America to date.

41 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001