Remembering the Chicago Center for Green Technology

Bird's eye view showing solar panels, rooftop garden, and rear trails.  Courtesy of the City of Chicago.

Once the city's shining proof of our commitment to sustainability, the Chicago Center for Green Technology has officially shut its doors on October 31st, 2014.  An event barely marked in the news, the closure still disheartened the activists, students, and lecturers who had supported the center in its twelve years of work.

Twitter users said:
"Boo & hiss! Chicago Center for Green Tech. closing. Another example of Rahm dismantling Daley's green Chicago vision" (@JameeBee)
"Not proud of our city today" (@ReuseFirst)

While blogger Lynn Becker wrote:
"But for the time that it had, the Chicago Center for Green Technology served well."

In January 2003, CCGT rose from an illegal solid waste dump to become a LEED Platinum certified building and showcase for the latest in environmentally-friendly ideas.  From its rooftop garden, solar panels, natural air ventilation, and geothermal heating, to its recycled office furniture and fast hand dryers, every detail cheered for a better planet. The renovation had cost $5.4 million through the now-defunct Chicago Department of Environment.  Though money had been set aside for initial operation cost, funding was depleted by 2012.  At this point, coordinators experimented with charging $10 for classes, but abandoned fees after one trimester.

Lecturers had taught a wide variety of free public courses, including gardening, watershed design, transportation projects, and building materials, with partners like Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum and Rebuilding Exchange.  Though the classes were accessible to all educational levels, presenters never talked down to their audience.  The bright, open classrooms invited a collaborative atmosphere and fostered member retention.  

Though the space and certificate programs were commendable, the location was inconvenient.  The only complaint Yelp users had was the lack of signs.  Oddly enough, the Department of Transportation had absorbed CCGT, yet no sidewalks and bike lanes led to the building. The best way to access their sustainability programs was by car, and even drivers often missed the access road.  Furthermore, Chicagoans hate to leave the neighborhoods were they work and live, and East Garfield Park itself was not a draw.

The combination of the retirement of its biggest supporter, ex-Mayor Daly, poor fundraising, and inopportune placement defeated this community leader.  Though no group offers as great a breadth of courses, you may see other local green events by subscribing to monthly newsletter sustainability@cityofchicago.org. 

Social Fiber! at the Chicago Cultural Center

A worthy message at an interactive studio

I know what feels off about Monica Neuland’s studio in the Garland Gallery of the Chicago Cultural Center. It’s too orderly. One can simply move around freely between the three looms, the neatly arranged books, the wall of yarn, and the samples of foreign rugs. Not like our mothers’ wild sewing nooks, with their bright carpets of jumbled thread and cast-aside half-quilted Christmas table runners, this room is divided into stations.

But if the studio design doesn’t bring kaleidoscopic delight, Neuland’s fantastic wardrobe and ebullient manner more than compensate. Her blond hair wrapped in a blue scarf and clear eyes focused on the guest, she welcomes the visitor with a chain of words spinning into a passion for the craft. She does not discuss her own “process”, but rather the global context of textile arts. “Once you learn to spin wool, you’ll never want to stop. It’s meditative. Women in India just walk around in the marketplace spinning. This is how they’ve done it for thousands of years.” Reaching over to help a participant unwind a tight thread, she instructs, “You have to feel the energy with your fingertips.”

On the other side of the room, a little girl in pink holds a captive audience at a loom. Neuland encourages her across the room, “Ruth, you woke up this morning, and you wanted to try weaving. Now you’re already giving demos. You keep this up, you’ll be president by tomorrow.” Ruth ducks her head to hide her smile. Neuland then turns to a woman at the book table and thanks her for returning.

This ability to work a room and her sense of inclusion are what make Neuland a good teacher, and able ambassador of public art to “people from communities experiencing bedrock poverty.” Over the remaining weeks of the residency, the artist plans to invite diverse groups of underserved to reach a goal of three thousand participants. However, people from all walks of life and backgrounds are also welcome. Visitors are encouraged to bring in their spare yarns and fabric, and help create a textile that will be eventually sewn into a tent to create “awareness of the breakdown of the connective tissue of life.”

So if the studio is not cozy enough, it is to leave space for everyone. When you find yourself downtown, stop in at the Chicago Cultural Center and help create our art.