The comprehensive Twin Embraces plan strives to uphold the great spirit of Daniel Burnham, who famously admonished Chicagoans and the world to “Make No Little Plans.”  However, here an additional underlying premise has been added to Burnham’s mantra, in keeping with the sensitivity of a mature, sophisticated city:  Do No Harm.

This is eminently possible at Washington Park by structuring the proposal in service of the community, and by orchestrating the underlying planning of the Center to serve the public on a regional scale.  To achieve this, the plan must leverage existing empty land, the site’s grand setting, historic neighborhood strengths, and extraordinary connectivity opportunities.

• Rather than damaging the park, the new plan strengthens it by moving through-traffic underground.
• Rather than destroying Chicago’s historic boulevard system and adversely impacting the intercommunication of the citizenry, the plan separates conflicting needs and improves each, benefiting all users.
• Rather than situating the Presidential Center unceremoniously beside a polluting and newly unnavigable city thoroughfare, the new plan creates a grand, pedestrian-oriented entry point called Obama Square.
• Rather than burying key aspects of the Center underground, out of sight, the new plan exposes the wonders of the Obama Presidential Center for all to enjoy, in this fashion fully celebrating the multifaceted legacy of President Obama.
• Rather than a standard-issue, environmentally damaging design, the new plan leverages the expansiveness of its site to implement bold sustainability features and to reach onsite Net Zero energy.
• Rather than robbing Chicagoans of their prized public greenspace, the new plan expands it with a variety of unique public features and the careful cultivation of threatened native species.