the obama foundation has presented a revised concept plan in response to local criticism on location, aesthetics, and function among other things.
[ revision highlights ]
overriding concept > the presidential center consists of – a tower housing a museum, a forum building, and a library that could be a small branch of the chicago public library. an athletic center with a basketball court is proposed south of aforementioned buildings. the buildings will be connected at a basement level. natural light via sunken skylights.
the museum tower > made taller, thinner, with transparent screens made from stone lettering. windows are enlarged and there’s more of them to address the monolithic feels of original concept. open to the public, the top floor is sun-lit with fews of the lake.
the library > the presidential center won’t archive presidential papers, but a digitized version of obama’s unclassified records will be available online and the physical documents to be stored in the national archives and records administration.
the forum > a 300-seat auditorium and a restaurant.
the athletic center > workout rooms and flexibility for basketball, other sports, and dances.
the parking garage > now underground in response to public criticism. garage for 450 cars.
open space > a 19.6-acre site, the center will create 5.16-acres of parkland plus planted rooftops on the buildings. the property will include gardens, a sledding hill and winding paths throughout. stony island avenue will be landscaped.
the foundation to submit its plans to the chicago plan commission and hoping for a spring 2018 approval and a year-end groundbreaking. 2021 would be the opening date.
lucid air, an all-electric that evolved from a battery, now scalable for a broad range of applications including and charges quickly. in matters of taste, the air evokes luxury yacht or executive business jet stylishness: artful enough to remind us now tesla s is showing her age.
the interior design though really shines, less about aesthetics but spacial restraints have vanished. air is narrower, shorter, and lower than a model s, but with the interior space of a long wheelbase s class mercedes. this zero-emission car is designed for an era of luxurious limited space.
[ facts ]
concept > zero-emission luxury mobility sedan
power > all-electric lithium-ion battery cells
number of passengers > 4
drive-train > no details
0-60 > 2.5 sec
top speed > software limited 217 mph (*)
(*) maximum velocity of 235.44 miles on the 7.5-mile oval track / see video below
launch date > 2019
configuration 1 > 400-horsepower / 100 kWh battery / rear-wheel drive / range 240 miles / $60,000 usd / $2,500 usd deposit
configuration 2 > range 315 miles / no price yet
configuration 3 > 1,000-horsepower twin-motor / 130 kWh battery / all-wheel drive / range 440 miles / $130,000 usd
special launch edition option > first 255 of configuration 3 / well-optioned / $130,000 usd / $25,500 usd deposit
[ storyline ]
2007 lucid motors (formerly known as atieva) started with a battery and an idea. worth mentioning the tesla roadster (2008) was the first production automobile to use lithium-ion battery cells and the first production ev with a range greater than 200 mi (320 km) per charge.
2014 lucid began engineering an electric vehicle
2016 lucid launches all-electric air
2016 lucid becomes official sole battery-pack supplier for formula e racing
2016 lucid partners with samsung sdi to craft next-gen lithium-ion cells. sdi is the leading manufacturer of lithium-ion cells in the world. they also signed a similar agreement with lg chem giving them maximum flexibility to select the best cell for each application.
2017 lucid moves to new headquarters in newark california
2017 though lucid says tesla is not their competition, that audi, bmw, and mercedes is editor’s note > we’ve been watching this car this since early 2017, considering it a best of 2017. this car seems so far along it comes as a surprise the launch date target is reset to 2019. the word on the street is financing, their current funding spread between developing a car and building a plant. they are also talking to ford. this car will help push the aforementioned ev’s to raise their bars.
above > randolph square / frida escobedo / mexico city
frida escoberdo has designed a monolithic timber, tiered platform in randolf square – a singular formal gesture with moveable modules that allows for informal lounging, gatherings, and forums. the installation mirrors the chicago cultural center’s gridded ceiling. if expanding the concept out the door to randolf street, one might start to think about what architectural theorist sarah whiting calls ‘chicago elastic grid,’ in regard to the 1909 burnham plan for the city that fosters a surprising diversity of subdivisions and city-block sizes. photography > kendall mccaugherty
the second edition of the chicago architecture biennial (cab) is the largest architecture and design exhibition in north america, showcasing the transformative global impact of creativity and innovation in these fields. this year’s biennial features over 141 practitioners from more than 20 countries addressing the 2017 theme “make new history.” artistic directors sharon johnston and mark lee have selected architects and artists whose eye-opening creations will invite the public to explore how the latest architecture can and will make new history in places around the world. the main exhibition is free and open to the public from september 16, 2017 through january 7, 2018. we are particularly proud to premiere our opening in 2017 in alignment with expo chicago.
chicago cultural center, 78 east washington street
above > gar hall where 24 plinths are arranged according to the figure-ground relationship established by mies’s plan for the illinois institute of technology (iit.)
horizontal city asks 24 architects to reconsider the status of the architectural interior. the exercise foregrounds the importance of the interior as a model of sociability. the architects reference a photograph of a canonical interior, from any time period.
the second edition of the chicago architecture biennial (cab) is the largest architecture and design exhibition in north america, showcasing the transformative global impact of creativity and innovation in these fields. this year’s biennial features over 141 practitioners from more than 20 countries addressing the 2017 theme “make new history.” artistic directors sharon johnston and mark lee have selected architects and artists whose eye-opening creations will invite the public to explore how the latest architecture can and will make new history in places around the world. the main exhibition is free and open to the public from september 16, 2017 through january 7, 2018. we are particularly proud to premiere our opening in 2017 in alignment with expo chicago.
above > finite format 04, pezo von ellrichshausen (concepciôn chile)
pezo von ellrichshausen have an ongoing interest in multiples, their project finite format 04 runs through the serial sequencing of an imagined building form: half tower and half plinth. the project demonstrates a mathematical obsession; the imaged building is presented here as an outline described by six factors that resulted in 729 variations, framed and hung in a monumental salon-style grid. the serial nature of these works might suggest a reading against a lineage of art from the 1970s often called process or serial art, which exhausted an idea or concept in a monotonous way.
the second edition of the chicago architecture biennial (cab) is the largest architecture and design exhibition in north america, showcasing the transformative global impact of creativity and innovation in these fields. this year’s biennial features over 141 practitioners from more than 20 countries addressing the 2017 theme “make new history.” artistic directors sharon johnston and mark lee have selected architects and artists whose eye-opening creations will invite the public to explore how the latest architecture can and will make new history in places around the world. the main exhibition is free and open to the public from september 16, 2017 through january 7, 2018. we are particularly proud to premiere our opening in 2017 in alignment with expo chicago.
above > ellie abrams and meredith miller of t + e +a + m
t + e +a + m examine the ways that ruins—commonly aligned with 19th century romanticizing of authentic materiality—were always mediated through technologies of image production. ghostboxextends their material research that has previously addressed the packard plant in detroit by examining new typology: the big box superstore. these giant stores were once a celebrated destination on the urban outskirts and peripheries but they are increasingly abandoned as contemporary habits transform to online shopping. redistribution as a practice has the potential to recover a type of building that – unlike renovation, adaptive reuses, preservation, or restoration = permits the circulation of building components, taken apart, moved around, piled up, and mixed with new construction to create alternative uses. t + e + a + m is looking for a patron to make it happen.
the second edition of the chicago architecture biennial (cab) is the largest architecture and design exhibition in north america, showcasing the transformative global impact of creativity and innovation in these fields. this year’s biennial features over 141 practitioners from more than 20 countries addressing the 2017 theme “make new history.” artistic directors sharon johnston and mark lee have selected architects and artists whose eye-opening creations will invite the public to explore how the latest architecture can and will make new history in places around the world. the main exhibition is free and open to the public from september 16, 2017 through january 7, 2018. we are particularly proud to premiere our opening in 2017 in alignment with expo chicago.
DesignApplause spoke to spanish designer patricia urquiola in the andreu world chicago showroom during neocon. we talk about her the nuez seat collection, which obtained a hip award in the category hospitality: seating at neocon. the chair is described as enveloping, suggestive, warm and at the same time technological. made of injected thermoplastic, it offers different options for the shell interior: fully upholstered, with upholstered seat or with padded seat and backrest. the different bases versions – four wooden legs, aluminum star, five casters or cantilever – come with a range of ten distinct colors for the shell and numerous upholstery options for the seat and backrest. a versatile design, capable of integrating into any type of corporate environment and also at home. the chair launched at salone del mobile 2017.
[patricia urquiola] we’re speaking about a new product introduction, nuez, which means ‘nut’ in english, from valencia-based [ andreu world ]. i’m very proud of our relationship, one we’ve kept for years that’s grown into friendships. we now know each other’s approach well enough where words easily translate into feelings and shapes.
why do this chair? they asked for formal and discrete, very gentle, very easy. though the company does incredible work in other materials, they were looking for a new material not in their workspace portfolio. our discussions led to plastic and they know that my injection approach is always striving for little details that are a bit curious and distinctive. what evolved was a shell concept.
we liked the concept of one shell using two elements, because of the way the two elements, like two papers, came together, like in a nut. from the back of the shell the elements created little wings which felt natural and just right. we pleated the plastic shell for aesthetics and textures giving it a materiality, a sense of touch. compared to our prior collection called nub, which was very… crafted, nuez represents a completely dissimilar notion.
[DesignApplause]nuez is crisp yet shapely. very light and does feel good to the touch. what’s her character like?
[PU] both my company and andreu philosophies are similar on many fronts. we’re all concerned, about who we work with and the way we proceed. we work with nature with a high regard for sustainability and social responsibility. we’re efficient, we produce functionality, durability, timelessness and our work, well it looks like our work. and in the end i’m very proud of this project.
[DA] what’s big on your mind right now? what’s important?
[PU] this is a conversation about a process. a company gives you a brief, you give an answer and you work in this kind of duet. it’s a beautiful established way a designer works within an industrial project. now i’m not a young designer, i’m a mature designer who’s been working this way for awhile. lately i’m doing a lot of experimentation with a group at haworth contributing to define a future vision for the group, creating an umbrella over everything. // in 2015, patricia became cassina’s art director tasked with creative management.
in the beginning it was an object and then a collection. but now we also talk about the relations of objects and space, the experiences, the services the company can offer, about everything! i’m working this way with cassina, haworth, mutina. and with andreu world i’m not doing that but i’m a good friend and they’re accustomed to my opinions and conversations. these conversations are important because they always lead to something new.
in this conversational role, the designer operates in this huge space, to re-think things, to ask more questions, it’s so open ended, so many possibilities. really, at this point the only bad decision is not to try something. and we’re just beginning.
<strong>[DA] stay tuned. [ formafantasma ] (andrea trimarchi and simone farresin) while lecturing at the school of the art institute of chicago was asked if designers are important, is design important. simone said this… the designer and the design is not important in and of themselves. formafantasma’s projects are complete once they leave the studio. it’s rare to know if their projects are a success and are rarely asked to improve what they created. their business model does not involve the relationship you’re experiencing right now.
in contrast simone felt the entrepreneur is more likely to be important. there’s a degree of control over a long period of time whereby something important could evolve.
[PU] “design thinking”, for me a label used too much, has become like a big inclusive net over everything in the world of design. i feel one starts as a specialist in design, like an industrial designer. for those who grow into more systemic integrated spaces the space opens up to expand your reach over the project. the more aspects you touch in sense the more important you are.
we can be a kind of catalyst in between society and ideals for living. we’re not only solving problems, we’re also questioning a lot of problems. i like the idea that this is a new attitude for designers: question and not only solving.
above > in the foreground and below – the wallderful: mexico city dellekamp arquitectos proposes not a wall, but a bridge between countries.
although they are doomed to crumble, humans have always built walls: along borders, across disputed lands, and around cities. whether it was hadrian, qin shi huang, or nikita khruschev, leaders often proclaimed the need to fortify their territories. and indeed they did: erecting formidable walls whose remains are largely relegated to the backgrounds of tourists selfies. dellekamp arquitectos reclaims the rhetoric of the wall in its ironic and iconic post-function state. political context serves as a point of departure to imagine a future where the border becomes the connection and the wall an invitation.
the second edition of the chicago architecture biennial (cab) is the largest architecture and design exhibition in north america, showcasing the transformative global impact of creativity and innovation in these fields. this year’s biennial features over 141 practitioners from more than 20 countries addressing the 2017 theme “make new history.” artistic directors sharon johnston and mark lee have selected architects and artists whose eye-opening creations will invite the public to explore how the latest architecture can and will make new history in places around the world. the main exhibition is free and open to the public from september 16, 2017 through january 7, 2018. we are particularly proud to premiere our opening in 2017 in alignment with expo chicago.
above > constructions and references, caruso st john with thomas demand and hélène binet
caruso st john (london) present a room that highlights the circulation of images, references, and histories between their own office and their collaborators artist thomas demand and architectural photographer hélène binet. a felt wallpaper – folds – forms a wall around a table of five models. works by benet hang on the wallpaper. the models represent a completed building, one in-process and three competition pieces. stripped of their contexts, removed from place and politics, they are close to autonomous architectural thought. on the other table we see models made for their collaborative projects with demand.
the second edition of the chicago architecture biennial (cab) is the largest architecture and design exhibition in north america, showcasing the transformative global impact of creativity and innovation in these fields. this year’s biennial features over 141 practitioners from more than 20 countries addressing the 2017 theme “make new history.” artistic directors sharon johnston and mark lee have selected architects and artists whose eye-opening creations will invite the public to explore how the latest architecture can and will make new history in places around the world. the main exhibition is free and open to the public from september 16, 2017 through january 7, 2018. we are particularly proud to premiere our opening in 2017 in alignment with expo chicago.
above> super models – circular model is ‘casa rotunda’, built stabio switzerland 1980 / shown here replica by mario botta in 2017 /// rust colored model is ‘monument to the resistence’, by segrate italy 1965 / shown here replica by aldo rossi 2017
super models presents replicas of twelve models collected by german architecture museum (dam ) during the 1980s. despite the assumption that museums only knowingly show original works of art, models commissioned to replicate buildings have long been part of the culture of architectural exhibitions.
such models are understood to function as three-dimensional photographs, transferring information about the buildings that cannot be shown in galleries to visitors without claiming any status as architectural works. these models are often made by model makers and sometimes unbeknownst to the architect.
the proliferation of institutions collectin architectural materials during the 80s, however, altered the status of these objects. the new market encouraged architects to shift their production to collectable objects, like models, and to equate them with architecture itself.
super models reflects on how this simultaneously eroded and amplified attachment to authenticity entangled the work of historians, curators, and architects, ultimately modeling not history but what has become a key feature of contempary creative practice.
the second edition of the chicago architecture biennial (cab) is the largest architecture and design exhibition in north america, showcasing the transformative global impact of creativity and innovation in these fields. this year’s biennial features over 141 practitioners from more than 20 countries addressing the 2017 theme “make new history.” artistic directors sharon johnston and mark lee have selected architects and artists whose eye-opening creations will invite the public to explore how the latest architecture can and will make new history in places around the world. the main exhibition is free and open to the public from september 16, 2017 through january 7, 2018. we are particularly proud to premiere our opening in 2017 in alignment with expo chicago.