Some members of Chicago's design community have said privately that the Navy Pier project's parameters, which limited the scope of changes, stifled creative possibilities, even for highly regarded designers such as Corner.

"Anything that makes it more parklike is all to the good," said eclectic Chicago architect Stanley Tigerman. "It can only go up, architecturally." — articles.chicagotribune.com

The team led by James Corner Field Operations has been selected as the winner in the international Navy Pier Redesign Competition. The Pierscape concept is part of the larger vision for Chicago's famous Navy Pier called The Centennial Vision, which seeks to make the "People’s Pier a truly iconic and world-class destination as it approaches its 100th anniversary in 2016." — bustler.net

If bookmakers put odds on architecture, they surely would have made Chicago architect Jeanne Gang one of the favorites to win the big design competition to remake the public spaces of Navy Pier. [...]

But when Navy Pier officials winnowed 11 semifinalist teams to a list of five finalists last week, Gang, surprisingly, lost out. And she wasn't the only high-profile name who didn't make the cut. — chicagotribune.com

The five teams, which include a mix of architects, urban designers, landscape and other designers, are headed by the firms AECOM, Aedas Architects, James Corner Field Operations, and the Xavier Vendrell Studio, the only team headed by a Chicagoan. The fifth team, known as !melk, includes the large firm HOK. — featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com

Hoping to lure top talent to remake Navy Pier, pier officials on Thursday began an international search for a team of architects and other designers who will re-imagine the pier's outdoor public spaces as part of a broader revamp of the facility. — featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com