THE LOOP — The Chicago Loop Alliance wants residents and visitors to take a seat.
The group of Downtown business owners that organizes attention-getting art projects unveiled its 2014 neighborhood improvement plans Friday, which include pop-up seating oases for pedestrians on streets and sidewalks throughout the Loop.
At Dearborn and Adams streets, two parking spaces will be snatched up to temporarily become "People Spots," 300 square feet of raised deck space festooned with planters, tables and chairs.
Another project would scatter table and chairs throughout the Loop in any of 150 locations to be decided by the public through surveys and social media campaigns.
Anijo Mathews, an assistant professor at IIT advising the Loop Alliance on the project, calls the digital-driven project "Tweet Seats."
At the group's annual meeting Friday, he described the concept as "seats that appear and disappear all around the Loop. ... They send out a Tweet saying, 'I'm here today, come find me,'" and include integrated "flowers, music and art."
Renovating Pritzker Park to add more seating and other cosmetic improvements is also on the agenda for 2014 Loop Alliance projects.
These projects and other programming, including Pop-Up Art Loop galleries and "activation" events in three Downtown alleys, will cost the Loop Alliance $135,000, according to a spokeswoman.
That includes $100,000 of Social Service Area funding from Loop residents' taxes, and $35,000 raised through sponsorships of CLA-organized events.
The Loop Alliance's most recent seating-focused installation, the Gateway to the Loop plaza on State Street at Lake Street, reopens in May.
