His­tor­i­cal­ly, the Chica­go Tran­sit Author­i­ty has been a city cen­ter-focused sys­tem, opti­mized for week­day com­muters. As the reach of pub­lic tran­sit expands beyond the dense urban core, mul­ti-modal trans­fer, between train and bus, can often be con­fus­ing and frus­trat­ing. The Bel­mont Gate­way aims to pro­vide an icon­ic trans­porta­tion hub that pro­vides need­ed ameni­ties to pedes­tri­ans while gen­er­at­ing a neigh­bor­hood iden­ti­ty for the Avon­dale community.

Inspired by one of Chicago’s ​“Sev­en Lost Won­ders”, the Olson Water­fall, the sta­tion is ani­mat­ed with a dynam­ic form that is acti­vat­ed on a rainy day. By replac­ing exist­ing infra­struc­ture, con­nec­tions to the under­ground sta­tion and numer­ous bus routes that inter­sect this busy cor­ri­dor are improved and stream­lined. The new orga­ni­za­tion pro­vides ded­i­cat­ed wait­ing areas with a wind break, bus track­er, heat, and new way-find­ing maps.

Designed to accom­mo­date a pre­paid zone for bus­es, the sta­tion will be one of the first in the city to begin pilot­ing new meth­ods of pas­sen­ger effi­cien­cy. In a sec­ond phase, both pre­paid infra­struc­ture and an ele­va­tor will be installed; con­sol­i­dat­ing the user expe­ri­ence for both train and bus passengers.

The winged canopy mirac­u­lous­ly lev­i­tates on three piers, span­ning to cap­ture vis­i­bil­i­ty from the street and pro­vid­ing pro­tect­ed areas for pre­paid zones. The struc­ture itself, which was shop-fab­ri­cat­ed, sits atop three four-ton con­nec­tion rings that help bal­ance the exag­ger­at­ed can­tilevers from sway and move­ment. The end result is a com­mu­ni­ty gate­way; visu­al­ly enhanc­ing the street-lev­el entrance to the sub­way station. 

Client: Chica­go Tran­sit Author­i­ty
Pro­gram: Tran­sit sta­tion upgrade
Cost: $17 mil­lion
Size: 85 feet long

Select­ed Awards/​Honors
Amer­i­can Insti­tute of Steel Con­struc­tion, IDEAS Awards, Mer­it Award — Sculptures/​Art Instal­la­tion­s/Non-Build­ing Struc­tures, 2020.

Project Fea­tures
Chica­go Tri­bune—​“New $17 mil­lion CTA Bel­mont Blue Line sta­tion com­plet­ed” 
Curbed Chica­go—​“Now open: Bel­mont Gateway’s dra­mat­ic canopy inspired by Avondale’s lost water­fall” 
Chica­go Sun Times—​“Bold new design is arriv­ing at Bel­mont Blue Line stop”
 

Col­lab­o­ra­tive Part­ners 
Simp­son Gumpertz & Heger (Struc­tur­al Engi­neer) 
Luftwerk (Light­ing Con­sul­tant)
Thirst (Wayfind­ing) 
EXP (Design Build, Archi­tect of Record, Struc­tur­al Engi­neer of Record) 
Facet Engi­neer­ing (Elec­tri­cal Engi­neer of Record) 
Walsh Group (Erec­tor and Gen­er­al Con­trac­tor) 
Cast Con­nex Cor­po­ra­tion (Cast­ings) 
AAA Engi­neer­ing (Elec­tri­cal Engi­neer­ing) 
Infra­struc­ture Engi­neer­ing Incor­po­rat­ed (Civ­il Engineering)

Drone Footage: © Nate Moser