Presenter
Presenter
Ms. Jackie Koo
Principal KOO
Jackie Koo is the Founding Principal of KOO, an integrated Architecture Interior Design, and Urban Planning firm established in 2005 and recipient of the 2023 AIA Chicago Firm Award. KOO's diverse clientele and project types include both new construction, adaptive re-use, and historic renovations in the Hospitality, Education, Commercial, Residential, and Civic sectors. Notable
projects include the Sable Hotel at Navy Pier, interior design for the dual-branded Hyatt hotel at Old Cook County Hospital, and the Altgeld Family Resource Center. Current projects include SoLa, a 700,000 SF mixed-use development in Michigan City, Indiana and Landmark Hotel in Portsmouth Virginia adjacent to the the Rivers Casino.
Jackie received her B.A. in Philosophy from the University of Chicago and her M.Arch from the University of Illinois at Chicago and started her career at Richard Meier and Partners in New York. She is a member of the Board of Directors for the Chicago Architecture Biennial and served on Chicago's inaugural Committee on Design. Her business affiliations include the American Institute of Architects, the International Interior Design Association, the US Green Building Council, The Chicago Network, The National Organization of Minority Architects, Chicago Women in Architecture and the Economic Club of Chicago and the Urban Land Institute.
Speaking at
Wed Oct 30
2:30 PM — 3:30 PM (GMT-05:00) Eastern Time
Resorts World Las Vegas - Level 2, Jasmine EF
Navy Pier’s Reimagination: People-Centered Placemaking
Category
Placemaking
Navy Pier, envisioned in Daniel Burnham's 1909 Plan of Chicago and designed by architect Charles Sumner Frost, was built in 1916 to meet demand for commercial shipping and leisure on the lakefront. Called "The People's Pier," it juxtaposed double-decker freight sheds with grand public spaces, evolving through its first century to meet the needs of Chicagoans. Since 2011, Navy Pier has been reimagined to provide its 8M+ annual guests with unique experiences and a built environment connecting the cityscape to the lakefront. A 2010 ULI report spurred the most recent improvements, including Polk Bros Park, a 13-acre green entrance to the Pier, as well as a JCFO-designed waterfront promenade, the Pier's "green spine." Further enhancing the guest experience are the state-of-the-art Yard theater, the iconic Centennial Ferris wheel, the KOO-designed Sable Hotel and Offshore, the world's largest rooftop bar (Guinness World Records). Together, these projects enhance the guest experience, answering the ULI panel's call that the Pier be a "public place to serve the people of Chicago and present its cultural fabric to the world." Drawing from its maritime past and unique location, more changes are envisioned with renewed focus on not only serving millions of annual guests, but also the thousands of employees, artists, and entrepreneurs that call Navy Pier home, supporting the cultural, tourism, and business economies while creating social impacts that reverberate throughout the community.