Ravinia Festival Site Improvements

Ravinia Festival Site Improvements
Ravinia Festival Site Improvements
Ravinia Festival Site Improvements
Ravinia Festival Site Improvements

Ravinia, the oldest outdoor music venue in North America, approached SmithGroup to prepare a Master Landscape Plan. The resulting design work solved major flooding and pedestrian access problems while enhancing Ravinia's aesthetic character and sustainability.

Client

Ravinia Festival Association

Location

Highland Park, Illinois

Markets/Services

Civil Engineering, Green Infrastructure, Landscape Architecture, Parks & Open Spaces

Size

34 acres

To address frequent flooding in the south parking lot, SmithGroup provided a green design solution using flow-through pavers and an underground detention vault. This increased permeable area on site from 38% to 81%, and its success spurred similar renovations for the north lot.

We couldn’t be more satisfied with the results we’ve seen thus far.

James Schmitz, Ravinia’s Director of Facilities

An at-grade commuter rail crossing between the west parking lot and entrance had caused long waits and safety concerns for 35 years. The design team made Ravinia's dream of a pedestrian underpass a reality in a remarkable 20 months from start to completion. The team modeled pedestrian flows and came up with an optimum solution for moving 8,000 people to the entrance – while also extending the artistic quality of the Ravinia experience to the venue's edges.