(Above) An illustration from the mayor’s office that shows what a riverfront lighting contest might produce someday. With Marina City at right, this image imagines the view looking west from about Wabash Avenue. (Click on image to view larger version.)

July 11, 2015 – It has been nearly a year and a half since Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced an international contest to get ideas for elaborate nighttime lighting of the Chicago River.

A request for “concept design proposals for a city-wide lighting framework” was advertised from July 7, 2014, to August 29, 2014. Entries were encouraged from artists, architects, designers, planners, and engineers.

The city has received at least 16 proposals but no final decision has been made yet. In February 2015, the 16 proposals were narrowed down to four finalists, each of which will be paid $25,000 to submit a final design proposal. A public presentation by each finalist was considered but the city says it could not get it organized.

“This procurement process in still underway,” says a spokesperson for the mayor’s office. “As is it an active and open procurement we cannot comment on the status, but when final decisions are reached, we will let folks know.”

One of the finalists is BuroHappold Engineering, an international firm with an office on West Adams Street in Chicago. Matthew Herman, director of the company, did not respond to an email seeking comment.