Additional Resources
Erie Neighborhood House
Urban Greening Guide

Cermak Creative Industries District

Partners:
Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, City of Chicago

Cermak Creative Industries District: Archeworks will lead a multi-year initiative that complements and supports a City-led effort to transform an isolated industrial corridor into a new district for the creative industries. The Cermak Creative Industries District, which borders the communities of Chinatown and Pilsen, will provide a mix of work spaces and collaborative opportunities for diverse enterprises that are part of Chicago’s expanding creative industries sector.  We will focus on a series of design challenges that lay important groundwork during the District’s predevelopment phase. Our goal is to inspire new thinking and to help the City set a new standard for a world class creative business hub that attracts and spawns businesses across the creative sectors. This Archeworks initiative is also closely aligned with the City’s  long-range goal of building the capacity of cultural districts as a city-wide economic engine and developing new models for cultural economic development that strengthen neighborhood economies.

Drawing from local field research as well as best practices and ideas from around the world, the Archeworks design team will focus on two topics in 2011-12: 1) new approaches to physical design and program development for an interdisciplinary creative industry incubator; and 2) design concepts and approaches related expanding access and connectivity across the new District. The team will specifically focus on developing a series of proposals for improved connectivity with the riverfront and integrated approaches to access that set a new standard for a barrier-free District. Additionally, the Archeworks team will explore possibilities for integrating accessible design into targeted creative industries, including ideas for influencing the design and delivery of firms’ creative services, product lines, and workplaces.