Design Competition -Pullman Artspace Artist Live/Work -Chicago

The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation has awarded funding to Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives, Inc. (CNI), to oversee an open design competition to engage the best and brightest Chicago architects for the planning and design of a creative space in Chicago’s Pullman community for artists to live, work, gather and share ideas. Pullman Artspace is being developed in partnership with PullmanArts, a group of neighborhood artists committed to the revitalization of Pullman; and Artspace Inc., the Nation’s leading non-profit developer of mixed-use artist housing.

The overall goal of the design competition is to engage an architect that can design an iconic structure that will help anchor the proposed Pullman National Park and meet the following criteria:

1. Honor the history and character of Pullman, a City, State and National Landmark Community;
2. Attract artists from outside the community to take up residence in the new structure;
3. Create a space that spurs creativity amongst residents and visitors
4. Integrate the building(s) into the built and human fabric of the community

The competition will begin January 23, 2015 with a Request for Qualifications to Chicago architects (or architectural teams) that will prioritize past experience with multi-family tax-credit-financed housing, a commitment to sustainable architecture, and experience in designing new buildings that reinforce historic context.    Responses to the RFQ are due February 9, 2015.  A copy of the RFQ is available on Artspace’s website under “recent news” at www.artspace.org.

Ten semi-finalist architects or teams will be notified in March and invited to advance in the competition.  The teams will be asked to provide concept drawings showing overall plans and elevations and sample layouts for individual units in the apartment buildings. Each semi-finalist team will be invited to present their concepts to a Competition Jury.  These presentations will result in the selection of three finalist teams, each of which will receive a $10,000 stipend to advance their design concepts.  A winner will be selected in Summer, 2015 by the Competition Jury.

For more information, please contact Ciere Boatright at CNI at [email protected]

Pullman Art Space – Concept
The Pullman neighborhood is increasingly being recognized as a burgeoning artist community, home to visual art installations, live theatre productions, film and music festivals, and numerous community events. In 2011, CNI, a not for profit community development organization, partnered with PullmanArts, a committed group of neighborhood artists, to explore feasibility of developing new, affordable space for artists to live and pursue their creative work. The groups raised money to engage ArtSpace (www.artspace.org), a nationally recognized expert in arts-driven community transformation, to conduct a more formal market analysis. The study indicated that the neighborhood could support 35-45 new, affordable, live/work units in Pullman. CNI, PullmanArts, and ArtSpace have now formed a formal development partnership to make the project a reality.

Pullman Art Space – Site
The Development Team has chosen a site located on Langley Avenue, just south of 111th Street. The site is approximately 18,500 square feet of vacant land book-ended by two historic apartment buildings. It provides the opportunity to integrate historic preservation with cutting edge new construction and create an iconic group of buildings that anchor Pullman’s eastern boundary.

A Brief History of Pullman:
The brainchild of railcar magnate George M. Pullman, the original town of Pullman – built between 1880 and 1893 – was one of the nation’s first planned industrial communities; and arguably its most beautiful. Pullman directed architect Solon S. Beman and landscape architect Nathan F. Barrett “to spare no unnecessary expense,” in building what the Times of London described as “the most perfect town in the world.” In addition to its architectural significance, Pullman also played a significant role in the history of urban design, transportation, labor and race relations.

Pullman Today:
From the time of its court-ordered divestiture from the company in 1907, Pullman has been largely a working class Chicago neighborhood. In the late 1960s, a local chamber of commerce proposed razing south Pullman in favor of a light industrial park. Local residents, organized by the Pullman Civic Organization, responded by securing city, state and national historic landmark status to save their community. Among Chicago’s 50 city landmark districts, Pullman is the only one that enjoys state and national landmark status. It is the only one anchored by a state historic site.  One of the oldest landmark districts in Chicago, it is, by a significant margin, the largest – fully 10 percent of all city landmark properties are in Pullman. Each year, more than 50,000 visitors come to Pullman for its annual House Tour, Garden Walk, state historic site events, guided and self-guided tours.

In the last few years, Pullman has attracted significant attention to protect and promote its historic assets.  President Obama is likely to use his authority under the American Antiquities Act of 1906 to designate a portion of the Pullman Historic District in Chicago as a unit of the National Park System. The goal of the Pullman National Park is to preserve and interpret for the benefit of future generations the significant labor, industrial, social, civil rights and architectural history associated with the Pullman legacy.

Pullman is also garnering recognition as a unique place to live and work.  In 2011, Pullman was designated one of the country’s 10 Great Neighborhoods by the American Planning Association.  The State of Illinois and the City of Chicago have invested in the restoration of historic homes and structures through various housing programs, resulting to date in the preservation of 200 affordable apartments at the Pullman Wheelworks and the revitalization of 22 formerly vacant row homes.  In 2012, Pullman was selected as the site for a new, LEED Platinum industrial facility for Method, which produces eco-friendly soap and home cleaning products.  In selecting Pullman for its first North American plant, Method cited its well-preserved, affordable housing stock, its proximity to public transportation, rail and roadways, and its recent retail development that increased access to fresh foods and retail goods.

About Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives:
Chicago Neighborhood Initiative (CNI) is a 501c3 neighborhood-based community development organization with a mission to strengthen Chicago area low- to moderate-income communities by collaborating with neighborhood stakeholders on community development efforts that support economic development and neighborhood revitalization. To date, CNI has coordinated the investment of more than $100 million into the Pullman community.

About Artspace, Inc.:
Artspace is America’s leader in artist-led community transformation with a network of 35 affordable arts facilities in 13 states.  With headquarters in Minneapolis and offices in Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, Seattle and Washington DC, Artspace is committed to employing all levels of minority staff, and includes board members from different racial backgrounds.  Our portfolio represents a $500 million investment in America's arts infrastructure, our facilities provide more than 1,100 affordable live/work units for artists and their families as well as a million square feet of non-residential space for artists, non-profit arts organizations and creative enterprises. Artspace has a long history of working in diverse and culturally specific communities, we intentionally go where the needs are great and the projects hard, because there we can have the greatest impact. Our goal is to address the needs of a community - not to achieve financial rewards. We want to leverage th
 e arts as a force of social equity and economic change.

About PullmanArts:
The mission of PullmanArts is to protect, preserve and promote Pullman as a unique, major arts hub. Historically, the original company town of Pullman was built to be an exceptionally beautiful place that would attract and retain the best artisans and craftsmen to build luxurious Pullman Palace Cars. Today, the City, State and National Historic Landmark District of Pullman continues to attract and inspire a diversity of artists, whose creativity immeasurably enriches the community. PullmanArts also is partnering with a range of local, regional and national groups to advance Pullman being designated as a National Historical Park.

Funding for the Pullman Artspace Design Competition has been made possible by a generous grant from the The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation