chicago architecture – DesignApplause

u.s. tax code overhaul would bulldoze incentive for restoring time-honored architectural gems.

Nov 5, 2017

above > the rookery building’s central light court and lobby, remodeled in 1905 by frank lloyd wright. photo by raymond boyd/michael ochs archives collection/getty images

u.s. tax code overhaul would bulldoze incentive for restoring time-honored architectural gems. the overhaul of the tax code unveiled thursday by house republican leaders would hit hard at one of chicago’s great cultural assets. [rk] chicago tribune

chicago architecture biennial. 6 > 12 december 2015.

Dec 5, 2015

[ 6 > 12 december calendar ] The Chicago Architecture Biennial is free and open to the general public at the Chicago Cultural Center and sites across the city. The event is supported by the City of Chicago and the Graham Foundation, with additional support from the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, and the Chicago Park District. All funding for the event is privately raised, with significant investments from BP and SC Johnson.

‘casa a’ by selgascano + helloeverything was placed in one of the two largest rooms of the centre, being one of the several full scale housing mock-ups at the show. photography: steve hall, copyright hedrich blessing. courtesy chicago architecture biennial.

can educational partners come together under one roof to create a new model for learning in chicago?

chicago architecture foundation (caf) posed this question through chidesign, an open international ideas competition. design proposals submitted to this competition are presented here with the jury-awarded winners highlighted below. these ideas draw attention to the importance of rethinking urban education and next generation cultural institutions. as cities search for solutions to complex issues around space and resource management, caf is committed to advancing this important community dialogue. see the [ winners ] installation thru 3 january 2016 | chicago architecture foundation | 224 south michigan avenue | #chidesigncaf

For a complete list of exhibitions, public programs, supporters, media partners and program partners, visit [ Chicago Architecture Biennial ] which launched 3 October 2015, and will run through 3 January 3 2016. @chicagobiennial @GrahamFound @ChiCulturCenter

chicago architecture biennial. 29 november > 5 december 2015.

Nov 28, 2015

[ 29 november > 5 december calendar ] The Chicago Architecture Biennial is free and open to the general public at the Chicago Cultural Center and sites across the city. The event is supported by the City of Chicago and the Graham Foundation, with additional support from the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, and the Chicago Park District. All funding for the event is privately raised, with significant investments from BP and SC Johnson.

‘s house’ by vo trong nghia architects is another full scale installation that depicts a housing model for vietnam’s mekong river. photography: tom harris, copyright hedrich blessing. courtesy chicago architecture biennial

the main floor of the stony island arts bank will be used for exhibitions, like the current show by carlos bunga. courtesy chicago architecture biennial. image steve hall

the all-consumed joseph grima at the 2015 chicago architecture biennial.

Oct 3, 2015

As I am photographing an installation Joseph Grima, the co-artistic director of this biennial is walking into this space with his phone held high, talking while walking and video taping. Without pausing he says hello and keeps on filming because as I later learn he has a scheduled interview coming up. I take a few photos of him recording and then I start recording him recording, reminiscent of the style Isaac Julien uses in his film Ten Thousand Waves. This goes on for 16-plus minutes. When done we both walk towards his interview.

[DesignApplause] This is the 3rd day of your event. Where are you right now?
[Joseph Grima] I’m totally immersed and consumed right now. Whether I’m at a scheduled event or in between like we are right now. What am I doing now in my free time? Video recording the entire event! I’m both buzzing and having a great time.

[DA ] This question can be off the record if you wish. The Chicago Cultural Center is such a wonderful space. Does the Beaux-Arts ornamented classical style compete with the installations? Would you have preferred to have a vacant factory building?
[JG] If this building was alongside a vacant factory building I would choose this building in a heartbeat. This space is more than a building. This is the city’s living room so to speak. The local citizens come in here all the time, this is there space, it has so much heart and soul. And this notion is more important than any special politics or anything. Having said that I think the spaces in this building are absolutely amazingly fantastic. The vast array of rooms that we’ve been able to occupy, from scale models to large installations, big galleries, small galleries, fantastic circulation. I think it’s fabulous.

[DA ] There are more young, emerging talents than big names. I’ve noticed that’s the case with a number of biennials. Is this phenomenon by design with curators of these events?
[JG] I think this is an exceptionally generous biennial in the sense that it looks much more towards the emerging generation. However, there are some names who are incredibly well-known. We tried not to think too much about who’s famous, who’s not famous. That wasn’t really a specific criteria. We were mostly interested in who’s producing new ideas, who has bold visions, who is taking risks and give them a space.

[DA ] You’ve done a number of biennials and events. How does Chicago compare?
[JG] The scale of the Chicago event is really big. Istanbul was big but Chicago is really big, the first time I’ve done something this large.

[DA ] I hope this show will keep going and thank you so much, and Sarah Herda (co-artistic director and executive director of the Graham Foundation), for putting together such an incredible body of effort and ideas.
[JG] Me too. I have every hope that it will because this city offers so much. Chicago is fantastic, an incredible opportunity for the city and the world.

The [ Chicago Architecture Biennial ] launched 3 October 2015, and will run through 3 January 3 2016. @chicagobiennial @grahamfound @ChiCulturCenter

the inaugural 2015 chicago architecture biennial. installations 1.

Oct 2, 2015

We’ve used this intro in another post [ see talking to michelle boone ]: It’s hard to believe that 2015 is the launch date of the first Chicago Architecture Biennial. With so many major worldwide architecture & design events going on and with Chicago’s architectural heritage being one of the richest in the world, this event will serve as the epitome of ‘it’s never too late.’

There are more of the younger, emerging talents than the acclaimed, a not uncommon theme at a biennial. Some are academic, others enlightening, taken as a whole, inspiring. Though the organizers talked to over 500, the Biennial features 100 participants, the following a smattering of creative inventions, these found in the Chicago Cultural Center, 77 East Randolf Street.

[ rock print ] is the first architectural installation to be built from low-grade granular material and constructed by robotic machines. Conceived as an intriguing vertical object, the installation presents a radically new approach to The State of the Art of Architecture – the official title of the inaugural Chicago Architecture Biennial 2015 – and brings forward a new category of random packed, potentially fully reusable, poly-dispersed jammed structures that can be automatically fabricated in non-standard shapes. Following an initial period of robotic assembly, the installation will comprise a large-scale architectural artefact in its completed form, exhibiting distinct features, such as, for example, full material reversibility and the respective reusability of the aggregated materials; structurally active interlocking, differentiated structural performance, while yielding high geometric flexibility and articulation. Performing a full scale 3D “rock printing process” that uses the self-aggregating capacities of the material itself, this visionary project is the first collaborative installation by Gramazio Kohler Research, ETH Zurich, and the Self-Assembly Lab, MIT. [ credits ] images below>

[ BUILTHEFIGHT ] Didier Faustino Paris / Lisbon – In the wake of the Occupy Wall Street and other similiar protests movements that followed all over the world, Didier Faustino proposes a modular architecture that is designed to strucutre protest sit-ins. BUILTHEFIGHT presents one assembled architecture composed of twelve modules. To be activated, the rough architecture requires a group of demonstrators who have gathered in the urban space. Each participant wears a devide that links to those worn b others, to form an occupied territory. Each ephemeral group establishes a compact unmovable space. The aesthetic of the project also refers, paradoxically, to the design of anit-riot police equipment and chain-link fences. This duality place the demonstrators in a double condition: offensive and defensive. This prototype proposes a political ‘archtiecture-event’ designed to enable defensive formations. images below>

[ children’s town ] Onishhimak + Hyakudayuki architects | Tokyo – This is a smalll town for children. It is a gathering of several small houses, all of which are on wheels, so they can be moved. Children can parade with the houses or change their layouts to make a new town in which to play.

Children’s Town is base on the ‘Home-for-All’ project for children living in temporary housing in Higashi-Matsushima, Japan, that the architects build in 2013 in the wake of the tsunami that hit the country. image below>

[ models of the house of one ] Kuehn Malvezzi + Armin Linke + Marko Lulić | Berlin – The center of Berlin will be the site for the House of One, a house of prayer and learning for Christians, Jews and Muslims alike, as well as the secular urban community. Kuehn Malvezzi designed a synagogue, a church and a mosque to be built under one and the same roof. The architecture of the House of One is monumental and devoid of symbolism, and presents itself to the city as a single entity. The spatial experience of the interior, however contrasts with this perception; inside, the three religions assert their harmony and difference. The three (3) models shown are the Model of Space (architecture), the Model of Gestures (photos) and the Model of Relations (video).

above> model of space below> model of gestures and model of relations – click > enlarge

[ peranesi circus ] Atelier Bow-Wow | Tokyo – The courtyard of the Chicago Cultural Center is inaccesible, even though it is visiible from all sides of the building. This relationship of secludedness enhances the perception of the courtyard as a void in the middle of the building. the proposition of bringing people into the courtyard presents several difficulties – not environmental or physical concerns but rather issues with the security, safety and facility management. The allegory behind G.B. Piranesi’s Carceri d”Invenzione (Imaginary Prisons) could be recalled for this void space as a means to critique the constraints of daily life. The ramp, ladder, suspended bridge, cantilevered balcony and swing are not accessible to the general public but are rather for the use of circus performers – or for imaginary prisoners.

[ halo ] Wolff Architects | Cape Town – “Design something the world will never forget. Something that will be associated with Cape Town forever after. Something temporary.’ That was the brief that Wolff Architects received for a structure to celebrate Cape Town as the World Design Capital in 2014. The response was a halo of light, 330 feet (100m) in diameter, that would appear at night above Lion’s Head, a mountain that towers over the city. It is an enigmatic device, celebrating the landscape that defines Cape Town. It is also a gentle satire on the reverence that people have for Table Mountain.

talking to michelle boone on chicago’s first architecture biennial.

Oct 2, 2015

It’s hard to believe that 2015 is the launch date of the first Chicago Architecture Biennial. With so many major worldwide architecture & design events going on and with Chicago’s architectural heritage being one of the richest in the world, this event will serve as the epitome of ‘it’s never too late.’ We talked to the biennial’s resourceful, Michelle Boone, Commissioner of the City of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE), after an exhilarant, worldwide audience filled, first press event. Many would say she’s 100% responsible for this inaugural happening.

[DesignApplause] What’s the genesis of the Chicago Architecture Biennal? How far back does it go?
[Michelle Boone] I was appointed by Mayor Emanuel in 2011, and I would say probably that second week of my tenure I got a call from the mayor wanting to work towards identifying a new platform, a major platform to convene the world and celebrate one of Chicago’s multiple assets. And very quickly through the process of working on the Chicago Cultural plan released in 2012, we landed on architecture. That while we had great organizations like the Chicago Architecture Foundation, and others that were doing their part to introduce visitors to Chicago institutions and Chicago Architecture history, the city itself had done very little to really promote architecture. We had great music festivals, engaging theatre programs and grant programs in support of individual artists, but as an agency very little for architecture, one of the city’s cultural strengths. And professions! I mean, just the sector of architecture as a creative industry is really important to the city. So we began to explore and look at biennials and exhibitions around the world.

[DA] And what year was this?
[MB] 2012. We went to Venice, the granddaddy of them all and met with those folks and they were very encouraging. And you know, they were shocked and surprised when we told them Chicago wasn’t doing a biennial. Every time we spoke to someone outside of the city, we heard that over and over. Through this process and along with our very encouraging and supportive local architecture community we’re here today kicking off our biennial. Looking back it was very easy in the beginning pulling the pieces together, but then we had to do the hard work of pulling everything together.

[DA] To summarize, how long has it taken to get to today?
[MB] We’ve been working on it for three years, in different iterations. The exploration, research, the ideas started back in 2012. I think Sarah (Herda, executive director of the Graham Foundation) coming on board, and really starting to massage the artistic vision for the biennial probably started in late 2013. So, yes, I think the work that she and Joseph (Grima, an architect and writer who co-curated the 2012 Istanbul design biennial) have been engaged in has been at least 18-24 months for sure.

[DA] Venice started in the 80s. The experts say you have 10 years, and with the biennial occurring every-other year, that’s 20 years. Are you going to hang in there?
[MB] Well, the Biennial will hang in there (laughing) I don’t know if it needs me to hang in there all that time. What’s very important, we started right from the beginning establishing the Chicago Architecture Biennial as an organization, an independent non-profit to ensure the sustainability of the event. It’s not dependent on me being here at the city of Chicago, or Mayor Emanuel being here, but that the organization will build the institutional intrastructure to be able to carry this on.

[DA] You’ve been able to see all the installations, can you point me to one or two?
[MB] There are a lot of cool things here and one of the coolest to me is the installation with spider webs, so the spider as architect (Tomas Saraceno, Berlin) is pretty interesting to see.

above> – click image for slide show; Tomas Saraceno, Berlin – When entering into Saraceno’s installation, a visitor’s perception is reoriented in a darkened environment dotted with glowing sculptures that are articulated in silvery spider silk. Formed of complex interwoven geometries suspended in air, each piece appears as a unique galaxy floating within an expansive, infinite landscape. The work’s titles reveal the technical basis for each sculptural element, like the genus and species of the spider collaborators and the amount of time needed to construct their webs – one four months. During the building period of a sculpture, each cube is turned onto its different sides, dislodging gravity and interweaving concepts of freedom of control within the work.

[DA] Anything else you wish to say?
[MB] It’s free! One unique thing about our biennial in comparison to some of the others around the world, is that all of the works are free and accessible.

[DA] How did the largest architecture and design festival ever to be held in North America press conference go?

The [ Chicago Architecture Biennial ] launches 3 October 2015, and will run through 3 January 3 2016. @chicagobiennial @grahamfound

2015 chicago architecture biennial opening days public schedule.

Sep 30, 2015

the first chicago architecture biennial is the largest architecture and design festival ever to be held in north america | courtesy iwan baan

Chicago is billing the 2015 Chicago Architecture Biennial (CAB) as North America’s biggest survey of international contemporary architecture, but the event is not alone. Besides Venice, whose architecture biennial began in 1980, cities worldwide hold biennial exhibitions of art, design and architecture year-round.

The first biennial, which has secured a $2.5 million lead grant from British oil and gas giant BP, is planned for 3 October 2015, through 3 January 2016. Mayor Rahm Emanuel personally solicited the lead, $2.5 million donation for the biennial from BP. The city’s biennial will present scale models, photographs and more unconventional displays hosted at the Chicago Cultural Center.

The event organizers have Chicago holding its architecture biennial in odd-numbered years with Venice historically presenting even-numbered years. The experts say this is a 10-year, five in Chicago, trial run. DesignApplause is optimistic.

The event will be “the Davos of architecture,” said the co-artistic director of the Chicago biennial, Sarah Herda, referring to the Swiss city that hosts global business and political leaders at its World Economic Forum. Herda is the executive director of the Chicago-based Graham Foundation, a grant-making architecture organization that has partnered with the city to host the biennial. Joseph Grima is the other co-artistic director, an architect and writer who co-curated the 2012 Istanbul design biennial.

There will be no admission charge for the Chicago biennial. The Venice event two-day ticket price is 30 euros ($41). The target audience will be architects and designers, cultural mavens, students and tourists.

Below is a schedule of public events. Some events will require an RSVP. [ chicago architecture biennial ] [ graham foundation ]

[ wednesday 30 september ]

4:30–6 PM Panel: Death and Afterlife of the Post-Industrial City
Location> The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, SAIC Ballroom, 112 South Michigan Avenue

Presented by the Department of Art History, Theory and Criticism at the SAIC in collaboration with the Department of Architecture and Design at MoMA, New York and the Elkones Institute (Basel), with additional support from the Shapiro Center for Research and Collaboration and the Department of Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects.
Free and open to the public

5:30 PM UIC School of Architecture, Fall 2015 Lecture Series: Tatiana Bilbao Principal, Tatiana Bilbao Estudio, Mexico City, Mexico
Location> 1100 Architecture + Design Studios, 845 West Harrison Street
Free and open to the public

6:30 PM Chicago Architectural Club: Burnham Prize & Currencies of Architecture Exhibition Opening
Location> Chicago Architecture Foundation, 224 South Michigan Avenue
Free and open to the public

[ thursday 1 october ]

2-5 PM House Housing + We, Next Door exhibit
Location> 1322 West Taylor Street

Presented by the National Public Housing Museum and Columbia University
Free and open to the public

2:30 PM Screening of Infinite Happiness
Location> AMC River East 21, 322 East Illinois Street

4–6PM Outside Design Exhibit Artist Talk and Reception with, David Benjamin, Eric Ellingsen David Hays, Joyce Hwang, and Emmanuel Pratt
Location> The Art Institute of Chicago, 112 South Michigan Avenue
Hosted by the School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Free and open to the public

5-7:30 PM James Wines: SITE Specific - Architectural Drawings 1979 to 2012 | Opening Reception
Location> Rhona Hoffman Gallery, 118 North Peoria Street
Free and open to the public

5:30-8 PM International Perspectives | Chicago and the Future of Urban Change
Location> The Art Institute of Chicago’s Rubloff Auditorium, 111 S Michigan Avenue

Presented by Van Alen Institute and the Architecture & Design Society of the Art Institute of Chicago
Free and open to the public

5–8 PM Barbara Kasten: Stages Opening Reception
5PM Opening Remarks by Barbara Kasten and ICA curator Alex Klein
Location> The Graham Foundation, 4 West Burton Place
Free and open to the public

[ friday 2 october ]

1-2:15 PM Biennial Participant Roundtable Moderated by Beatrice Galilee and José Esparza
Location> Claudia Cassidy Theater at the Chicago Cultural Center, 77 East Randolph Street
Online RSVP via Chicago Architecture Biennial Website

2:30-4 PM Biennial Participant Roundtable Moderated by Emiliano Gandolfi and Awarding of the Curry Stone Design Prize
Location> Claudia Cassidy Theater at the Chicago Cultural Center, 77 E. Randolph Street
Online RSVP via Chicago Architecture Biennial Website

4:30 PM Theatre: Performance by Santiago Borja
Location> Carr Chapel, IIT, 65 East 32nd Street
Free and open to the public

4:30 PM Superpowers of Ten: Performance by Andrés Jaque / Office for Political Innovation
Location> The Tank, Chicago Athletic Association, 12 South Michigan Avenue
Free and open to public. Online RSVP via Chicago Architecture Biennial Website

6 & 6:15PM We Know How to Order: Performance by Bryony Roberts and South Shore Drill Team
Location> Federal Plaza, Chicago
Free and open to the public. Online RSVP via Chicago Architecture Biennial Website

6:30 – 10PM New Horizon_architecture from Ireland at the Chicago Design Museum
Location> Chicago Design Museum, Block Thirty Seven, 108 North State Street, 3rd Floor
Irish Design 2015 in partnership with the Chicago Design Museum
RSVP to rsvp@chidm.com

8 PM Superpowers of Ten: Performance by Andrés Jaque / Office for Political Innovation
Location> The Tank, Chicago Athletic Association, 12 South Michigan Avenue
Free and open to public. Online RSVP via Chicago Architecture Biennial Website

8 PM Theatre: Performance by Santiago Borja
Location> Carr Chapel, IIT, 65 East 32nd Street
Free and open to public

lekker architects’ proposal was a finalist in the [ lakefront kiosk competition ] | courtesy lekker architects

[ saturday 3 october ]

12:30 PM We Know How to Order: Performance by Bryony Roberts and South Shore Drill Team
Location> Federal Plaza, 219 South Dearborn Street
Free and open to the public

1 PM We Know How to Order: Performance by Bryony Roberts and South Shore Drill Team
Location> Federal Plaza, 219 South Dearborn Street
Free and open to the public

12:30-2 PM Metropolis Preserving Postmodernism Panel: postmodernist architecture: preservation’s new frontier
Location> Chicago Cultural Center, 77 E. Randolph Street
Online RSVP via Chicago Architecture Biennial Website

4:30 PM Superpowers of Ten: Performance by Andrés Jaque / Office for Political Innovation
Location> The Tank, Chicago Athletic Association, 12 South Michigan Avenue
Free and open to the public. Online RSVP via Chicago Architecture Biennial Website

5-8 PM Night of Illumination: Opening Celebration at Stony Island Arts Bank
Location> 6760 South Stony Island Avenue
Online RSVP via https://night-of-illumination.eventbrite.com

[ sunday 4 October ]

7 AM Amanda Williams’ Color(ed) Theory House Painting: Flamin’ Red Hots
Location> 5703 South Lafayette
The event is free but requires RSVP. Inquire at www.awgallery.com

2–3:30PM Thinking into the Future: A Conversation with John Ronan
Location> Preston Bradley Hall in the Chicago Cultural Center, 77 East Randolph Street
Presented in Collaboration with the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust
Online RSVP via Chicago Architecture Biennial Website

chicago unveils a chinese developer’s plans for its third tallest building.

Dec 18, 2014

the wanda vista, a burly 88-story mixed-use river-front mega-tower.

the city of chicago unveiled a jeanne gang designed skyscraper designed to reside on the chicago river. the developers, the wanda group, which is controlled by mainland china’s richest man, wang jianlin, and chicago-based magellan development group, propose a 2016 groundbreaking. chicago mayor rahm emanuel’s administration portrays the project as the largest real estate investment by a chinese firm in chicago and one of the largest in the united states.

the skyscraper is planned for an east wacker drive riverfront site.

interior riverfront view of the tower, the $900 million mixed-use project will contain a 250-room five-star hotel, 390 condominiums and about 9,000 square feet of retail space.

interior south view of wanda vista.

though no height was given at the unveiling, the tower’s height has been previously reported as 1,148 feet, which would make it chicago’s third tallest building, behind the 1,730-foot willis tower and the 1,388-foot trump international hotel & tower. close runner-ups are the 1,136-foot aon center and 1,128-foot john hancock center.

the project would reside in the lakeshore east development, which is bordered by east wacker on the north, lake shore drive to the east, randolph street to the south and columbus drive to the west. gang’s world-renowned 859-foot aqua tower is also part of the development. aqua tower is said to be the tallest building designed by a female architect. wanda vista will raise that bar.

[ studio gang architects ]

about ron kovach

mad architects unveil design concept for lucas museum of narrative art.

Nov 4, 2014

the eagerly awaited design concept of the new lucas museum on chicago’s lakefront presents a taller than expected, futuristic and organic shapliness that makes an eloquent counterpoint to nearby man-made chicago architecture.

here’s what the 39-year-old architect, ma yansong of beijing says on mad’s website:

the architectural concept for the lucas museum of narrative art explores the relationship between nature and the urban environment. inspired by the work of frank lloyd wright and mies van der rohe, the design integrates the natural beauty of the park and lake michigan with the powerful man-made architecture of chicago. the design furthers the museum’s mission to be a place of education, culture, and inspiration.

the lucas museum design is both futuristic and timeless. its continuous undulating organic surface blurs the line between structure and landscape. as the harbor rises up to the land, it merges with stone surfaces that reach up to the sky and ultimately crescendos into a “floating” disc. the museum is not an isolated object, but a spatial experience that is defined by the people who occupy and interact with it. its uninterrupted stone surfaces are as primitive as it is futuristic, evoking the great achievements of architectural history. it is a place to discover and explore, to communicate and contemplate. more than a building, it is an urban vista for social interaction, bringing people closer to each other and to nature.

the seven-level, 110-foot-tall, 400,000-square-foot museum will occupy the southern half of a 17-acre site offered to lucas by mayor rahm emanuel. emanuel depicts the museum as a fitting statement to complete chicago’s museum campus, an array of three natural history museums: the adler planetarium, the field museum and the shedd aquarium.

[ main elements of the proposal] > visitors could park in an existing nearby waldron parking deck. a new pedestrian bridge would bring visitors to the museum’s main entrance facing lake michigan.
> that entrance, outdoor plazas and an amphitheater occupies the museum’s second level. the design includes a goodly addition of green space to the museum campus. “the whole idea of the building is to be part of nature, part of (the) landscape,” the architect said.
>the lucas team will work hard to accommodate bears fans at nearby soldier field.
>the building is comprised of three levels of exhibition space organized in continual loops. the white conical mass is topped by an elevated disc at the peak, which is to contain an observation deck offering 360º views toward the city and adjacent lake michigan.

1> field museum
2> shedd aquarium
3> adler planetarium
4> northerly island
5> lucas museum of narrative art

it comes as no surprise in chicago that the project has its detractors for building on the lakefront. the chicago plan commission will be among the city bodies reviewing the lucas museum’s plans. there’s a 1973 lakefront protection ordinance to contend with, which calls for chicago to protect the shoreline’s open character.

[ mad architects ] ma has won international recognition for his undulating museums in china and the shapely “marilyn monroe” residential towers near toronto. mad architects is joined by local firms studio gang and voa associates. for more details on the museum and its project team, see designapplause’s previous article.

[ lucas museum of narrative art ]

MAD architects + studio gang win chicago’s george lucas museum.

Jul 28, 2014

above> rendering of northerly island is from the framework plan | 2009 | courtesy of studio gang architects | click > enlarge

Four days after announcing that Chicago would be the home of The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art (LMNA), today George Lucas announces the architects: Ma Yansong, founder of Beijing based MAD architects and Jeanne Gang, founder of Chicago’s Studio Gang Architects. VOA Associates, based in Chicago, will serve as the executive architect and lead the implementation of MAD’s design.

The museum will be designed by Yansong and Gang the surrounding landscape and a pedestrian bridge to Northerly Island, a peninsula east of the museum site. The proposed site is a parking lot located between Soldier Field and McCormick Place. In addition there are three adjacent Museums – the Adler Planetarium, the Field Museum and Shedd Aquarium, all comprising a 57-acre parcel on Lake Michigan known as Museum Campus.

Yansong is a precocious figure for Chinese architecture, having made a name for himself around the world as a business leader and innovative architect. Recently named 2014’s Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum and one of Fast Company‘s 100 Most Creative People in Business, Yansong founded MAD Architecture in 2004 in Beijing, and earlier this year announced the opening of another office in Los Angeles.

absolute towers aka marilyn monroe towers | 2011 | courtesy of mad architects

aqua tower | 2009 | courtesy of studio gang architects

Gang in 2009 designed the tallest building in the world to have a woman as lead architect, her first skyscraper, and in 2011 a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Fellow and Genius grant winner, the same year named in Fast Company‘s ‘Masters of Design’. She was recently honored with the 2013 National Design Award for Architecture, from the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. She found Studio Gang Architects in 1997.

The Lucas release said of the team, “We are bringing together some of the top architects in the world to ensure that our museum experience begins long before a visitor ever enters the building,” said George Lucas, founder of the LMNA. “I am thrilled with the architectural team’s vision for the building and the surrounding green space. I look forward to presenting our design to the Chicago community.”

The project requires the approval of the Chicago Plan Commission. There’s opposition from both the open-space advocates and Chicago Bears fans who use the parking lot to tailgate. In addition there’s a key legal issue. In 1970, after the 70-story Lake Point Tower and McCormick Place convention center was built, a law was passed to pay attention to the city’s 14 policies for the shoreline. One policy says no further private development east of Lake Shore Drive. To be determined – is the Lucas Museum classified as a private or public institution. The three museums of the Museum Campus all occupy buildings that they own, but the museums were built long before the law took effect.

Chicago’s Mayor Rahm Emanuel heavily lobbied for the Lucas Museum and made the studied decision to include Gang in the task force that selected the site. The open-span advocates also are aware, or should be, of Gang’s body of work, rich with the restoration of wildness to nature in urban settings. Her projects tackle social problems, notably how to create environmentally sustainable cities. Gang believes that the design of institutions such as museums or aquariums not only reflects human culture but can also shape it.

The museum will be home to more than 500,000 objects including ‘Star Wars’ and Norman Rockwell art. No price tag has been announced but figure on $1 billion – Lucas pledged $700M when talking to San Francisco about this project. Conceptual drawings are expected in September 2014 and the museum plans to open in 2018.

The runner-up was Amsterdam’s UNStudio who built a pavilion in 2009 in Millennium Park for the 100th anniversary of Daniel Burnham’s Plan of Chicago. Another on a short-list was London’s Zaha Hadid Architects who also built a pavilion for the anniversary.

courtesy of mad architects

[ MAD Architects ] is a global architecture firm committed to developing futuristic, organic designs that embody a contemporary interpretation of the Eastern spirit of nature. MAD’s works incorporate sustainable design and advanced architecture technology to achieve harmony with natural and urban environments. With its core design philosophy of the “Shanshui City,” which is a perfect combination of city density, functionality and the artistic conception of natural landscape that aims at composing a future city that takes human spirit and emotion at their cores, MAD endeavors to create a new balance among society, the city and the environment through new forms of architecture. More than 80 architects from all over the world work in MAD’s offices in Beijing and Los Angeles.

courtesy of studio gang architects | ©sally ryan photography

[ Studio Gang Architects ] is a collective of 50-plus architects, designers, and thinkers whose work engages pressing contemporary issues and their impact on human experience. Honored with the 2013 National Design Award for Architecture from the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, the Studio acts as a laboratory—testing ideas on various scales, from cities and environments to material and physical properties. Cross-field research, collaboration, and iterative experimentation using both digital and analog technologies are integral to the Studio’s process. Each project is designed to resonate with its specific site and culture while addressing global themes such as reuse and sustainability. [ new yorker profile ]
[ VOA Architects ] is a 40-year-old nine-location global architectural design firm. VOA Associates, whose designs include Roosevelt University’s 32-story vertical campus in downtown Chicago and the Swedish Embassy in Washington, D.C., will implement Mr. Ma’s design. “We will take the concept design and create a digital sculpture that will serve as the blueprint for construction,” said Michael Toolis, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, VOA Associates. “Each aspect of the museum will be digitally created using technology that enables us to test daylight, create interactive models and examine how the design performs in different environments.”

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