Throughout October, SOM led five sketching sessions at Apple Michigan Avenue in Chicago as a part of The Big Draw, a month-long festival of drawing hosted at Apple flagship stores around the world. The sessions offered opportunities for Chicagoans to learn more about current and planned projects in the city, and engage with SOM designers through interactive sketching activities.
The series began with a session led by SOM Design Partner Scott Duncan. Duncan presented the proposed design for 400 Lake Shore Drive in Chicago and sketched ideas for the site with audience members. The next session explored SOM’s 2002 master plan for Millennium Park, led by SOM Planning and Design Director Thomas Hussey. During a walk through the park, Hussey shed light on SOM’s design strategies and explored ideas for the future of Millennium Park with attendees.
The third session delved into SOM’s design for a new stadium at Lincoln Yards, a proposed master plan on the city’s north side. Designers Ryan Culligan, Jason Fisher, and Sarah Rozman explained the complexities of designing an urban sporting and entertainment venue on a former industrial riverfront, and sketched new configurations with the audience.
Next, the series explored SOM’s recent community study in Chicago’s Woodlawn neighborhood on the city’s south side, where senior urban designer Dawveed Scully discussed how designers translate the needs of the community into playful and practical spaces. During the session, attendees sketched their own ideas for a new central park in Woodlawn. The fifth and final session examined Chicago’s “second coast,” the Riverwalk. Led by SOM Urban Designers Jennifer Skowlund and Julie O’Brochta, the session discussed the evolution and the future of the Riverwalk. The event included a walk and sketching activity at its unfinished outdoor spaces.
The Big Draw is a charity dedicated to promoting visual literacy worldwide. The festival is the world’s biggest drawing event.