Midway Plaisance
Warming House and Rink
The warming house is built into the bank of the Midway Plaisance to minimize its physical presence. The Olympic size is rink designed for year-round use by students, faculty and the nearby Lawndale community.
First building constructed in Midway since the 1893 Columbian Exposition.
A joint effort by the University of Chicago and the Chicago Park District to revitalize the Plaisance.
The architecture of the warming house captures the spirit of the gothic campus wall that is its backdrop, of winter activities and of the site’s historic past. Roof deck railings echo Gothic limestone filigrees. Scalloped metal panels are an abstraction of hanging icicles. Interiors feature large format photos from the Columbian Exposition.