Streetscapes,
Urban Plazas
The master plan for a larger mixed-use hotel/office tower development, Geottsch Partners at the corner of W Madison and Jefferson St in Chicago’s West Loop, included space for a pocket park. The park, designed by Wolff Landscape Architecture, was to provide a welcoming, attractive, and distinctive destination that both accommodates and invites pedestrian circulation. The park is divided into “outdoor rooms” which provide smaller scale spaces and separation from the busy streets. Rooms are defined by tightly sheared and angled evergreen and deciduous hedges, and are connected by parallel walkways, with the rooms open to the street and the future building lobby. The pathways were created with the large format paver Umbriano in a linear running bond creating visual interest in a granite-like finish. Umbriano pavers also include the EasyClean™ Stain Resistance, ideal for easy maintenance in this busy park.