Inspired by the functionality of exterior places of assembly from antiquity, the community-focused amphitheaters and forums of the Roman era, the Forum complex invites the community to explore its upper reaches, and to participate in events from a variety of perspectives.  Like theatre boxes in an outdoor garden setting, these modern maeniana present lushly verdant spaces, and are available to the public for leisure and participation.  The building itself thus serves as a gateway to knowledge and as a spectacle unto itself, where community gardening, celebration, relaxation, and admiration of the park all can occur.  It is a Versailles for the people.  Or, more humbly, it is a salutatory public gesture that elevates Chicagoans high above the ground, in the spirit of Chicago’s most elegant public park buildings, the nearby 63rd Street Beach House and Burnham's Washington Park Refectory being prime examples.

Public raised-bed gardening, the local extension of Mrs. Obama’s key initiative while in the White House, is also located here in this dramatic setting.  It is enhanced by a gardening pavilion for education and refrigerated storage, and is surmounted by a pyramidal pergola with retractable shades, shading being critical to the success of many garden plants in harsh summer sun, but also complementary to the comfort of the gardeners themselves.  Public restrooms, seating, and gardens are also scattered throughout the terraced promenades.

Community access is available from combination elevator-stair towers, positioned on both sides of the Park Embrace, as well as on the neighborhood elevation fronting South Calumet Avenue.