2. Erica Beimesche
Walking through Millennium Park’s Lurie Garden in Chicago, one
would never expect to be directly above a massive underground parking
garage. However, thanks to landscape architect Kathryn Gustafson,
countless tourists and locals alike traverse and appreciate the landscape
and are none the wiser. The garden is not just a disguise for the garage; it
is a testament to Chicago’s history and an escape from the concrete jungle
of the city.
Loosely rectangular-shaped, Lurie Garden is less than two blocks
away from the waters of Lake Michigan (1). It lies between the dense,
orthogonal buildings of the city and the carefully constructed green spaces
that line the shore (2). Even so, it is very near a busy intersection, still
bordered on all sides by streets. In this way, the garden links the natural
world of Chicago’s undeveloped past with its metropolitan present.
Nestled in the corner of the famous Millennium Park, it is mainly
composed of two juxtaposed “plates” bisected by a boardwalk (3). The
Dark Plate is a densely planted section with a wide path running through
it, called the Cloud Walk. Trees are planted around and even in the
middle of the walkway, giving the visitor a sense of primordial mystery,
reminiscent of a marshy, pre-human Chicago shoreline (4). The Light
Plate consists of perennial plantings, and is a low plain that one can easily
see across. There are no trees, and the bright, optimistic plate is meant to
evoke a feeling of walking on air. Casual trails are interwoven throughout
1
2
3
4

3. the Light Plate, allowing visitors to experience the garden in more depth.
Both plates are tilted, initiating a distorted sensation that helps the garden
as a whole achieve transcendence. They are also slightly convex, as if
punched upward by the indomitable verticality which characterizes the
metropolis. This additive nature of Lurie Garden, including the tall hedge
and two plates, is countered by the subtraction of the water feature. The
sunken rill, or stream, emphasizes how the plates and the city have been
raised above the level of the lake (5).
Bordering Lurie Garden towers the Shoulder Hedge, taken from
Chicago’s nickname as the “City of the Big Shoulders.” While serving as
a frame for the landscape, it also protects the flora from high winds and
heavy pedestrian traffic. This green perimeter consists of evergreen
shrubs and trees which are hemmed in by a metal armature. The armature
gives the evergreens a definite rectangular shape, while serving as a
trimming guide and bird perch. The vertical members of the framework
lean inward, allowing the inner vegetation more light and conferring a
majestic superiority upon the Shoulder Hedge as a whole, such as the
entasis of ancient columns (6). In the context of the city, the Shoulder
Hedge’s loose “L” shape mimics that of the encompassing city blocks to
the northwest (7). From an interior perspective, the hedge also creates the
illusion of supporting the buildings beyond, especially Frank Gehry’s band
shell “headdress” to the north (8). In all, the Shoulder Hedge is a vital
boundary that separates Lurie Garden from the exterior world; it creates a
5
6
7
8

4. hierarchy of movement between Millennium Park and the garden’s plates,
while also defining circulation patterns within and without.
The points of entry into Lurie Garden arise from two major
sources: the road to the south and the park to the west and north (9).
Heavy traffic from the direction of the band shell’s green and the Cloud
Gate sculpture, nicknamed the Bean, funnel into the garden from the north
(10). Pedestrians must choose between entering via the boardwalk, the
more central option, or the Cloud Walk, the path that crosses the Dark
Plate to the east. The other routes from this direction consist of the stairs
through the western Shoulder Hedge, which connect the inner garden with
the wide outer walkway to the west. From Monroe Street to the south,
visitors can gain access to Lurie Garden through two stairways and a
ramp. The ramp is located on the southwestern corner of the garden, with
one wide stair on its immediate right. The other stair is found on the
southeastern corner; one main stair leads upward to the garden, while two
subordinate stairs lead symmetrically downward to the garage below.
Within Lurie Garden, circulation is concentrated heavily upon the
central boardwalk, or the Seam, which runs north-south between plates
(11). To the west, the wide, well-traveled aisle serves as a means to
circumvent the garden, as it is outside the Shoulder Hedge. Glimpses
through the hedge where it is split by stairs give pedestrians just a hint of
the garden’s interior. Finally, the lightly traveled Cloud Walk to the east
divides the Dark Plate and gives visitors access to the far east section.
9
10
11

5. This section, while still part of the Dark Plate, is planted as a more
traditional park would be. There are three room-like sanctuaries stemming
from the Cloud Walk, each concealed and private, which tend to be
popular picnic sites. Thus, as the visitor travels progressively east, the
spaces become increasingly private (12).
The Seam, the most-travelled area of Lurie Garden, is composed of
the boardwalk and rill. It bisects the garden diagonally, creating the
division between the Light and Dark Plates and acting as the main axis of
the landscape. This effectively makes the garden entirely asymmetrical
and defines the space on either side, while producing the effect that the
garden and boardwalk have been rotated about the center. The path is a
boardwalk to remind visitors of their historical use in a city constructed
on boggy ground. The Seam also runs parallel to a breakwater that kept
the lake from railroad tracks near the shore. From below this deck issues a
very gently flowing rill, reminiscent of the old lakefront. Pedestrians can
sit and rest along the lowered portion of the boardwalk, and even dangle
their feet in the cool water (13). Benches are nearly nonexistent in Lurie
Garden, as seating was reinvented so that visitors can perch wherever they
see fit; people often rest along the rill or settle along the stone borders that
skirt the plates.
Spanning the rill in three places are small bridges that connect the
Light and Dark Plates and allow circulation between them. Two of these
bridges lead to stairs which ascend into the Dark Plate, creating a
12
13
14

6. hierarchy of space due to height (14). As one steps across the Seam from
the open, welcoming world of the Light Plate into the shady, enigmatic
world of the Dark Plate, a tonal shift is created.
The highest level, the Dark Plate, is walled off from the water, the
lowest point of the garden. The water can be reached from the lower
platform of the boardwalk, which is given definition by a slightly raised
portion of the path. Continuing to move west, the boardwalk itself meets
the Light Plate, which is elevated somewhat above the path, but not as
greatly as the Dark Plate (15). The source of the water originates at the
north entrance of the garden, at the top of the boardwalk.
As it runs alongside it, the water encounters roughly five shallow
cascades (16). This lends the water a playful, energized feeling, rather
than the slow, boring mood of still water. The flow terminates in a pool
which wraps around the south end of the boardwalk, prohibiting further
circulation in that direction. The end of this pool can clearly be seen from
the sidewalk on the north edge of Monroe Street (17). As visitors circulate
down the length of the boardwalk and come to its end, they come face to
face with the façade of the Modern Wing of the Art Institute of Chicago
(18). This placement was not accidental, as it emphasizes the importance
of the building by being in the direct line of sight from the Seam.
Chicago’s Lurie Garden is a demonstration of man’s ability to
shape the environment, conceal synthetic structures, and enhance the city-
goers’ way of life. From an unsightly parking garage, Kathryn Gustafson
15
16
17

7. molded and gave birth to a public space in which visitors can relax and
enjoy time away from metropolitan chaos. The garden serves as a
historical microcosm of the city; it stands as a tribute to the past and
inspires optimism for the future.
18

8. Works Cited
“About the Lurie Garden.” Lurie Garden. 16 February 2013. Millennium Park Chicago. Web.
<http://luriegarden.org/about-lurie-garden>.
“General Design Award of Excellence.” ASLA 2008 Professional Awards. 2008. American
Society of Landscape Architects. 16 February 2013. Web.
<http://www.asla.org/awards/2008/08winners/441.html>.
Graham, Wade. “Landscapes Born Of Clay—Kathryn Gustafson: The Organic Formalist.”
Garden Design 155 (2008): 98-100. Art Full Text (H.W. Wilson). 16 Feb. 2013. Web.
<http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=73237333-1717-439e-9174-
f1ea39f6df60%40sessionmgr13&vid=1&hid=26&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ
%3d%3d#db=aft&AN=505351935>.
“Lurie Garden.” Gustafson Guthrie Nichol. 16 February 2013. Web.
<http://www.ggnltd.com/projects_detail.php?id=22#>.
Margolis, Liat and Alexander Robinson. Living Systems: Innovative Materials and
Technologies for Landscape Architecture. Basel: Birkhäuser, 2007. Print.
Richardson, Tim. Great Gardens of America. London: Frances Lincoln Limited, 2009. Print.
Wade, Megan. “Lurie Garden Maps.” Behance.net. 16 February 2013. Web.
<http://www.behance.net/gallery/Lurie-Garden-Maps/2596435>.