As opposed to a ponderous, anonymous, hulking block that expresses near-total indifference – as easily housing a Presidential Museum as laboratories, University offices, or a mausoleum – the Beacon of Hope aims to derive a purposeful form that could only befit its explicit purpose.  Furthermore, as a structure surrounded by an extension of Washington Park, the public realm, the ambition is to create an occupied monument, in sharp contrast to a typical building.  For these reasons, the Beacon of Hope assumes a heroically slender profile, lifting the functional spaces high above the ground.  Consequently, the impact of the tower upon the landscape is minimized, its footprint conscribed, with air, light, and human interplay free to pass around its dramatically splayed structural cores.

The museum experience starts near the Wintergarden in a dedicated welcoming dome and, following ticketing and coat check, proceeds through a sequence of above-ground and underground galleries.  Queueing to advance into the tower, when necessary, forms in a circular fashion below the tower’s plaza.  Once the upper floors of the tower are reached, narrative flow follows a natural helical path in an ascending form by means of a series of coiled escalators.  The arcing path of these escalators provides dramatic, unobstructed, unfolding views of the South Side, the powerful Chicago skyline, and glistening lakefront beyond.  Mezzanine levels are also provided for purposes of orientation, and to provide excellent views over exhibition halls out to the city.  Restroom facilities and seating are provided on each floor.

Solar and thermal control is enabled by a series of active louvers within the tower’s ventilated, high-performance, double-skin façade.  The shading adds a sense of dynamic vitality to the structure and fully express its sensitivity to natural inputs. Following the concepts of Frank Lloyd Wright’s hemicycle, the tower’s overall form allows complete solar tracking throughout the day, ensuring that ideal natural light conditions can be achieved.  Natural ventilation is promoted by the elevated nature of the tower, allowing wind-collection devices at the underside of the captured mass to passively draw outside air, drawn out the top by stack effect and modulated induced flow.  This airflow is not intended to provide interior ventilation for the carefully controlled exhibit spaces, but serves instead to reduce envelope overheating.  Like all double-skin facades, winter warming of the interstitial space mitigates energy losses from the large expanses of glazing.