Chicago Riverwalk

Schuler Shook provided lighting design for Phases 2 and 3, projects that connect to a completed Riverwalk section to the east. Working with the Department of Transportation, Ross Barney Architects and Sasaki, we designed lighting for the six themed blocks along the south shoreline of the Chicago River – The Marina Plaza from State to Dearborn, The Cove from Dearborn to Clark, The River Theater from Clark to LaSalle, The Water Plaza from LaSalle to Wells, The Jetty from Wells to Franklin, and The Riverbank. Each block also ties in to features like restaurants, play areas, and spaces to learn about the ecology of the river.

Keeping a sense of playfulness and wonder in the lighting design helps create an attractive new space for the public to enjoy. Approaching each challenge creatively, the lighting for the Riverwalk is designed to be playful, welcoming, and interactive — a drastic departure from the stark, security-style lighting of the past.

The colour-changing lighting in the Jetty is a direct result of hearing the city’s desire to create a visual attraction among the floating wetland gardens at dusk and dark. 

The task at hand was technically challenging. The design had to account for the river’s annual flood dynamics of nearly seven vertical feet.

The lighting design calls for all fixtures to be robust, rated for submersible applications, low maintenance, low glare, and well-integrated into the architecture. 

In The Cove, patterns of projected tree-branches are achieved with CMH150W/T6 — weather-proof, theatrical fixtures fitted with a glass gobo and a colour glass accessory. These are pole mounted at street level.

The arcade piers and ornamental capitals for the first five rooms are illuminated with in-grade fixtures housing CMH35/TC/930 lamps with a medium distribution. 

Illuminated handrails were custom made to meet submersible applications, and are fitted with 3000K, IP68 LED tape with a frosted lens to protect and diffuse the light source.

Bridges linking the ​“rooms” are illuminated with linear LED fixtures with opal white lenses. To provide safety and comfort and improve facial recognition, fixtures are angled five degrees to provide the right amount of light at eye level.

Linear LED fixtures are used throughout the project to delineate the paths in all ​“rooms”, illuminate the ramps in the River Theatre, and provide safety and comfort.