Marks Barfield Architects, the team behind the iconic London Eye, has unveiled plans, in collaboration with Davis Brody Bond, to construct a new sky-high attraction to stretch through the heart of North America's Windy City. The proposed Chicago Skyline is a new cable car line, which will run next to the city's river and through the downtown district.
Designed to withstand Chicago’s constantly varying and sometimes hostile weather conditions, the project's aerial gondolas would be engineered to have an ecologically light footprint and will be able to hold over 3000 people per hour. At the same time, its guests will be able to enjoy unprecedented views of the city’s iconic skyline.
Linking the Navy Pier, the Chicago Lakefront, and the Riverwalk, the line is also planned to conveniently transport Chicago's students to and from school during the off-peak seasons. The bespoke system, specifically designed for the city, is predicted to cost $250 million US dollars to construct, but is forecasted to pull in an impressive $300 million annually due to the influx of tourism and trade these ingenious pods will generate.
The project aims to attract a new wave of international tourists to Chicago. Should it get the go-ahead, the scheme hopes to become a new iconic project for the Windy City.
'The Chicago Skyline could do for Chicago what the London Eye has done for London, and become a very identifiable landmark within the city, driving tourism and prosperity,' says David Marks, director at Marks Barfield Architects. 'Gently fitting in and standing out at the same time, it will allow local people and visitors alike to appreciate the city and its world-class architecture from a completely new perspective.'
'The Chicago Skyline' is a proposal for a unique aerial gondola, which will run next to the city's river and through the downtown district
The gondola would be engineered with an ecologically light footprint and will be able to hold over 3000 people per hour. It will also offer unprecedented views of the city’s iconic skyline.
INFORMATION
For more information on the Chicago Skyline cable car, visit Marks Barfield Architects' website
Image: F10 Studios
-
The Sialia 45 cruiser is a welcome addition to the new generation of electric boatsPolish shipbuilder Sialia Yachts has launched the Sialia 45, a 14m all-electric cruiser for silent running
-
Tokyo design studio We+ transforms microalgae into coloursCould microalgae be the sustainable pigment of the future? A Japanese research project investigates
-
What to see at London Craft Week 2025With London Craft Week just around the corner, Wallpaper* rounds up the must-see moments from this year’s programme
-
Los Angeles businesses regroup after the 2025 firesIn the third instalment of our Rebuilding LA series, we zoom in on Los Angeles businesses and the architecture and social fabric around them within the impacted Los Angeles neighbourhoods
-
‘Fall Guy’ director David Leitch takes us inside his breathtaking Los Angeles homeFor movie power couple David Leitch and Kelly McCormick, interior designer Vanessa Alexander crafts a home with the ultimate Hollywood ending
-
The Lighthouse draws on Bauhaus principles to create a new-era workspace campusThe Lighthouse, a Los Angeles office space by Warkentin Associates, brings together Bauhaus, brutalism and contemporary workspace design trends
-
This minimalist Wyoming retreat is the perfect place to unplugThis woodland home that espouses the virtues of simplicity, containing barely any furniture and having used only three materials in its construction
-
We explore Franklin Israel’s lesser-known, progressive, deconstructivist architectureFranklin Israel, a progressive Californian architect whose life was cut short in 1996 at the age of 50, is celebrated in a new book that examines his work and legacy
-
A new hilltop California home is rooted in the landscape and celebrates views of natureWOJR's California home House of Horns is a meticulously planned modern villa that seeps into its surrounding landscape through a series of sculptural courtyards
-
The Frick Collection's expansion by Selldorf Architects is both surgical and delicateThe New York cultural institution gets a $220 million glow-up
-
Remembering architect David M Childs (1941-2025) and his New York skyline legacyDavid M Childs, a former chairman of architectural powerhouse SOM, has passed away. We celebrate his professional achievements
