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modern wing

Home Tag modern wing
chicago’s obama presidential library announces seven finalists.

chicago’s obama presidential library announces seven finalists.

Dec 21, 2015

the obama foundation today released a finalist list of seven choice – all modernist – architects for the honor of designing the presidential library in chicago.

no word on how many requests for qualifications (rfq) were sent out but 140 did respond representing 99 united states-based firms, 25 countries and 60 cities. the chosen seven represent four from new york, two from europe and one from chicago.

“the foundation received submissions from an impressive list of architects with a range of styles, expertise, and experience,” said martin nesbitt, chairman of the foundation. “we are pleased to see such a high level of interest in the design from so many highly-qualified architecture firms. these finalists offer a variety of backgrounds and styles, and any one of them would be an excellent choice.”

the obama foundation released the request for qualifications on 26 august of this year and asked for submittals by 16 september. the foundation and its advisers reviewed and summarized the responses and made recommendations to the president and first lady, who then made the final selection.

the firms are asked to return preliminary plans to the foundation during the first quarter of 2016. this process is not the traditional juried design competition, but the rfp requires defined, visual responses from each candidate to present creative ideas. it’s expected the architects will present at the white house.

of interest, the finalists have an additional challenge of providing concepts for two locations, jackson park and washington park, both founded in 1870 and linked to each other via the midway plaisance. 20 years later jackson park was developed by architect daniel h. burnham and his partner john root to site the 1893 world’s fair, columbian exposition. due to their close proximity to each other both parks attracted 27 million worldwide visitors over the fair’s six months. the final architect standing will have a big voice in which site will be chosen.

the architect will be responsible for designing the obama presidential center, a facility which will include a library holding the presidential archives, a museum focusing on the obama presidency and issues of our time, and space for programs and initiatives that advance the foundation’s public mission.

chicagoans may not recognize the names on the list, but they may be aware of their local work: adjaye’s retrospective at the art institute of chicago; piano’s modern wing at the art institute; ronan’s poetry foundation and gary comer youth center; diller scofidio + renfro is designing the university of chicago’s rubenstein forum; tod williams billie tsien architects work on the logan center for the arts also on the university of chicago campus.

obama-adjaye1

the national museum of african american history and culture | adjaye associates | courtesy smithsonian

adjaye associates | london & new york
adjaye associates, has worked on projects across four continents. notable works include the nobel peace center in oslo, norway, and the smithsonian institution’s national museum of african american history and culture, currently under construction in washington, d.c. the art institute of chicago is currently running a mid-career retrospective of adjaye’s work.

obama-dsr1

new york city high line | diller scofidio and renfro | courtesy friends of the high line

diller scofidio and renfro | new york
the firm is led by three partners – elizabeth diller, ricardo scofidio, and charles renfro. their portfolio includes major institutional projects including lincoln center in new york, and the broad museum in los angeles. also, new york’s high line and the university of chicago’s future rubenstein forum at 60th street and woodlawn avenue. diller and scofidio, became the first architects to win a macarthur foundation “genius” grant in 1999.

obama-piano1

modern wing at the art institute of chicago | renzo piano building workshop | courtesy rob cleary

renzo piano building workshop | genova, italy, paris & new york
founded in 1981 by renzo piano and no stranger to the president and first lady, as are a few others on this list, piano was awarded the prestigious pritzker architecture prize in 1998 and the aia gold medal in 2008. notable works include the modern wing at the art institute of chicago, the california academy of science, and the whitney museum’s new building on gansevoort street in new york. current projects include the palais de justice in paris, france.

obama-ronan1

poetry foundation | john ronan architects | courtesy john ronan architects/hedrich blessing

john ronan architects | chicago
john ronan architects has designed many academic and civic institutions in chicago such as the gary comer youth center where the obama foundation held its press conference to announce site selection in may 2015. other notable chicago works include the lyrical and refined poetry foundation and the gary comer college prep. ronan was awarded the aia institute national honor award for both the poetry foundation and the gary comer youth center. [ ronan interview ]

obama-shop1

site santa fe | shop | courtesy shop

shop | new york
shop architects won the architecture design award from the cooper hewitt, smithsonian design museum in 2009. notable work includes the barclays center in brooklyn, the botswana innovation hub in gaborone, botswana, and academic buildings at the fashion institute of technology in new york and is currently designing uber’s new headquarters in san francisco.

obama-snohetta1

obama library concept for hawaii’s failed bid to win the presidential center | snøhetta | courtesy snøhetta

snøhetta | new york & san francisco
originally founded in norway, snøhetta was awarded the prestigious mies van der rohe prize in 2009 for the norwegian national opera & ballet. snøhetta’s body of work includes the bibliotheca alexandrina in egypt, the expansion of the san francisco museum of modern art, and the james b. hunt jr. library at north carolina state. in 2014, obama spoke at the dedication of the firm’s national september 11 memorial museum pavilion, calling it “a sacred place of healing and hope.”

obama-williams1

logan center for the arts on the university of chicago campus | tod williams billie tsien architects | courtesy of university of chicago/jason smith

tod williams billie tsien architects | new york
williams and tsien founded their firm in 1974. their studio — by choice — designs only institutional, academic, civic, and residential work. they were awarded the 2013 national medal of arts by president barack obama. noteworthy work designed by williams and tsien include the barnes foundation in philadelphia, the logan center for the arts at the university of chicago, and the neurosciences institute in la jolla, california. they are currently designing the united states embassy complex in mexico.

[ download rfp ]

ask the right question. expo chicago 2013.

ask the right question. expo chicago 2013.

Sep 21, 2013

The second annual Expo Chicago, the International Exposition of Contemporary and Modern Art, is dedicated to strong and innovative art and design. This year’s design amplifies Studio Gang Architects (SGA) previous experiments using suspended large-scale sculptural elements to define distinct areas for gathering and relaxing, while simultaneously creating an optical experience of the art and activity that shifts as visitors move through the space. Refining the Expo floor’s organization (a grid cut through by a strong diagonal pathway) will also increase ease of navigation and further enhance the art’s visibility.

expo13-gang-mix3left > right / modern wing exhibit | pre-Expo assembly

In both Expo 12 & 13 SGA incorporates the firm’s collaborative, inquiry-based and research-driven approach presented in 2012 in an exhibition in Modern Wing of the Art Institute of Chicago. “Full-scale mock ups test the capabilities and behavior of materials, as can be seen in the hanging “Rope Rooms” in the exhibit. Investigating and uncovering a material’s properties such as fluidity, viscosity, bending, or stiffness, independent of a particular project, is often beneficial for the work that may come next.”

expo13-mca-bend-mix1
left > right / cutaway cabinets & bend | snarkitecture | 2013

Renowned architecture firm Snarkitecture serves up Cutaway Cabinets, a new series designed by Snarkitecture for MCA Chicago Pop-Up Bookstore at EXPO. Appearing at first as simple white boxes, the cladding of each cut-away in a series of irregular excavations. The openings reveal an internal spine whose surfaces create a range of display and storage options. In addition, Bend, a series of upholstered foam elements provide seating under the main center cone, designed by Snarkitecture in partnership with Volume Gallery, Chicago. Bend debuted at Design Miami 12.

expo13-bucket-mix1todd glickman, director of new business and strategy | my new secret tribe

While at MCA’s pop-up we discover ‘artist designed footwear’ Bucketfeet, a globally inspired footwear brand that connects people across the world through art! The two-year-old Chicago-based company has designer Scott Wilson [Minimal] as one of their advisors and was asked by Tony Karman to come to Expo. [ details ]

[DesignApplause] Todd, the concept, how does art and design reside in Bucketfeet?
[Todd Glickman] That’s a very interesting question. On the design side we’ve tried to create a silhouette to where the shoe is functional. If you look inside the shoe it’s all organic soft cotton canvas with a removable latex insole that has bubbles under the ball of the feet. So you’ll like your shoe for the aesthetic and they’ll last a long time and be very comfortable.
[DA] Do you have ‘Secret Tribe’ in a size 13? I’d like to wear them to Vernissage tonight.
[TG] The right question, yes, we do!

expo13-batz1
eugin batz | spatial effect of colors and forms, an exercise for color-theory, from a course taught by vasily kandinsky, tempera over pencil on black paper | 1929>30 | bauhaus-archiv berlin

art |architecture |design | 1917 > today
[ de stijl: mondrian and his influence ] [ bauhaus ] [ lessons from the bauhaus ]

In the art world, DesignApplause attempts ‘objects-only’ which could include a sculpture, or a photograph or painting of an Air Stream trailer for example. However, typically the art conversations are pieces by designers that reside in design galleries. For Expo 2013, for the first time, we put this question to the dealers we talked to: is there any architecture or design inspired art in your booth today?

The very first gallery…

expo13-arrecha1steam | alexandre arrechea | magnan metz gallery | 2013

[DA] Alberto, is there any architecture or design inspired art in your booth today?
[Alberto Magnan] Alexandre Arrechea is a Cuban born artist. He works a lot with design and art. This piece is represents Chicago bridges which are all stacked on each other and this is a design project he has going.

expo13-kronschlaeger1multicolored cube | alois kronschaeger | tierney gardarin | 2013

[DA] Cristin, we were talking about the design influence on this artist.
[Cristin Tierney] This is the work of Alois Kronschaeger. He’s based in Brooklyn and originally from Austria. He works in the arenas of fine art that crosses over into design, fashion and architecture. He’s about to have a large scale installation which will be part art and part architecture, 10,000 sq/ft of experiential art, at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tucson opening October 4.

expo13-kepes1untitled | gyorgy kepes | robert koch gallery | 1939>41

[DA] Ada, do you have design or architecture influenced work displayed today?
[Ada Takahashi] Ron, you are going to like this artist. Gyorgy Kepes taught at the Institute of Design in Chicago. He taught a class on light and design. In this photogram you can see he’s playing with numbers and letters as design elements. Gyorgy was very influential here in Chicago and Moholy Nagy asked him to teach.
[Robert Koch] I’m an architect.

expo13-taslitz1scenery | kathy taslitz | the international sculpture center | 2013

[DA] Sonya, …… ?
[Sonya] Kathy has a pretty diverse background. Her mom was an artist. She was an advertising account executive and morphed into a photo stylist in fashion and home furnishings. She’s now an award winning interior designer. Scenery is fiberglass, video projection and sound, which is about as diverse as her background.

expo13-waganari1the artist | moto waganari | hollis taggart galleries | 2013

[DesignApplause] Martin, …… ?
[Martin Friedrichs] Moto Waganari is a German architect who’s given name is Lutz Wagner. He works in a CAD program to design these beautiful sculptures. Mostly figure studies but also other things. He then prints them on a 3D printing process. Key essential elements of his work is also the shadows that his works cast. He’s very particular about what source of light is used.

expo13-aycock1spin-the-spin | alice aycock | galerie thomas schulte | 2012

[DA] Gonzalo, …… ?
[Gonzalo Alarcón] Alice Aycock studied architecture but her degrees are in fine art. But you can see the architectural influence , especially in the 70s installations, as many of her works, her elements of minimalism hybrid forms, computer programming, to create a complex combination of architectural and sculptural pieces. this piece represents her current study of energy of the city, a spinning off and colliding of thoughts and ideas.

expo13-prentice1aluminum diamond curtain | tim prentice | maxwell davidson gallery | 2013

[DA] Charlie, …… ?
[Charles Davidson] We’re looking at a piece of kinetic sculpture by Tim Prentice, a very successful architect but found his true love was really making artwork. Most of his sculpture is to define wind currents. And he designs each piece from the perspective that he thinks about where the piece is located so they really react with the intended space.

[DA] Charlie, I see a pavilion from Tim on the horizon. I’ve talked to 10 galleries already and I am hit and miss on the backgrounds of the art that draws me into the gallery. I was drawn in by this piece that looks like the Foster designed 30 St Mary Axe building in London (2001>2003) and thinking the building inspired this artist.

expo13-unger1beehive temple | mary ann unger | maxwell davidson gallery | 1987

[CD] A debatable assumption. This is a mockette of a larger piece which is on the campus of Lehigh University. This is the wooden study by Mary Ann Unger who died in 1998. A lot of her drawings are very geometrical and architectural.

expo13-pedro1headdress | pedro s. de movellan | maxwell davidson gallery | 1997

[DA] Back at you Charlie.
[CD] We’re looking at a sculpture by Pedro De Movellan, an American sculpture who does all kinetic work who works in wood, metal and mostly carbon fiber now. His father was an architect and his mother an artist.

Did not find an artist on premise to tell their own story. But did go off-site Friday night to see Herbert Murrie who has a fine art degree and started as an artist then to a very successful graphic design practice for 30-plus years while still painting and now back to painting full-time for five years.

herbert-murrie3notes & thangs colors & bangs | herbert murrie | jennifer norback fine art | 2009

[DA] Herb, does your design training play into your art?
[HM] My process, especially the collage which does not look like collage, is both technical and complex, and there are pieces that have to be designed, constructed. Add ‘chance’ which has two meanings; in English it can mean accident or hazard. In French “avoir de la chance” means to be lucky. I have questioned for a very, very long time if there is a destiny for us or is it completely blind; the push pull between accident, destiny and luck.

Sadly I’ve run out of time. I’ve only asked 12 galleries and found eight hits. What if all 100 were asked? Not to mention IN/SITU and special exhibitions. And the range went from “Jaume Plensa would not liked being lumped in with architects and designers” to Robert Koch saying “I’m an architect.” Here’s what I’m thinking: and it’s not attributed to Yogi Berra or anyone else but me and it makes sense to me. “You can take the this out of that, but you can’t take the that out of this.”

Expo Chicago 2013 is a very tight and fussy show.

event> Expo Chicago @expochicago
date> 19 > 22 September 2013
venue> Navy Pier’s Festival Hall
general admission> 20 > 22 September 2013 | Sunday 22 Sept. 22 | Fri + Sat 11a > 7p | Sun 11a > 6p

<a href=”527-ronscope200about ron kovach

Building: inside studio gang architects. Chicago.

Sep 19, 2012

modern wing the art institute of chicago | 159 East Monroe | member preview: 22 > 23 september 2012 | public: 24 september 2012 > february 24 2013 | click > enlarge

“Full-scale mock ups test the capabilities and behavior of materials, as can be seen in the hanging “Rope Rooms” in the exhibit. Investigating and uncovering a material’s properties such as fluidity, viscosity, bending, or stiffness, independent of a particular project, is often beneficial for the work that may come next.”

Building: Inside Studio Gang Architects, the first exhibition in the world to explore the work of Chicago-based and world-renowned Studio Gang Architects in-depth, comes at a pivotal time in the firm’s history. The exhibition will frame the work of Studio Gang around major issues of contemporary architecture in a radical departure from past presentations at the museum: a more traditional exhibition will be complemented by a participatory environment that reflects the firm’s collaborative, inquiry-based, and research-driven approach. [ studio gang architects ]

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