Aqua : Waves of Praise

In the concrete jungle known as Chicago, architecture is praised and gawked at. Believed to be the birthplace of the sky scraper, Chicago is famous for the buildings that reside there are well as the architects that designed them. But in 2009, a new building has been erected, one unlike any other in the city. In the heart of downtown Chicago is an eighty two story apartment building that resembles cascading water or draped fabric. Step aside Mies van der Rohe and Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, there’s a new style in town. Remarkably enough, this silky smooth structure is constructed of all the normal, manly, tough building materials such as steel, concrete, and lots of glass. But a woman, Jeanne Gang, who heads her own architecture firm, Gang and Associates, designed this particular building. Completed in 2009, Gang appropriately named her masterpiece “Aqua”. Aqua is the tallest building designed by a firm headed by a woman and Gangs first skyscraper. In a male dominant profession, Gang proudly shows off her sense of style. Not only has it caught the eye of plenty respected architects and critics, it has collected quite the rap sheet of architectural awards.

Gang’s design, when broken down, is fairly basic. It centers around a conventional rectangular glass slab, similar to a majority of high rises found in Chicago. But one thing that sets this building apart is the thin, curving, undulating, concrete balconies that wrap around all four sides of the building. These balconies range in size from just a few feet all the way to 12 feet in width. The design of the façade is quite appropriate for the location of the building. Not only does it reside in the heart of the windy city, it is also located in an up and coming residential area near the lake. Using the idea of contextualism, Gang has visually brought the idea of waves into the beautiful skyline of downtown Chicago. The building has a sense of unique rhythm which causes it to look different from any angle viewed at. Though it is a very bold building and stands out in the skyline, it is very organic and malleable.

Besides being a economical success, Gang designed a green building. The real intent of the design is not immediately apparent, which makes the building, from a technical point of view, more remarkable than it looks. Not only are the balconies integral to the design, the create shade for the apartments below, as well as protect the building from the forceful winds in Chicago. Wind is always a factor for architects and engineers when designing for Chicago and normally a solution is a device called a tuned mass damper, but for Gang, this wasn’t the right solution. The balconies are designed to break up with windy forces, which allows for a more economical solution. Gang also received a reward from animal activist group PETA because of the balconies. PETA says birds are less likely to fly and kill themselves on this high rise because the curved balconies are more visible to the birds as well as the etched markings on the glass. These two elements combined make a more animal friendly building; something most architects do not strive to design.

Gang has been compared to Zaha Hadid, the most famous female architect out there, but what Gang has that Zaha does not, is that she is a problem solver not just a shape former. Gang has tackled what many male architects have yet to accomplish; style and functionality. She takes the placement of a project and researches in order to find the best solution to the problem. It is unheard of for a sky scraper so tall to have balconies all the way up, but Gang wanted to fix that. Not only did the balconies serve as a design element, they function well to repel wind and break it up. For a building that appears to be so simple on the outside, it is amazing how much duality exists within it.  These are elements that hopefully will continue on with Gang and her firm and be more present through out the skyline of Chicago. Though she has tackled many buildings in the area, such as Columbia Colleges MPC center, it would be exciting to see what other sky scrapers she has up her sleeves.

Concrete Jungle cliche.. again..

In a special featured exhibit at the Art Institute called Hyperlinks: Architecture and Design, Matali Crasset’s concept art Spring City in Mexico depicts a highway bursting with large mosaic, collage, like tree trunks. Suggesting the overly used cliché concept of a “concrete jungle”, this image is jarring to look at from any angel and for any duration. Its feels as if Crasset was pulling inspiration from Rem Koolhaas who is famous for his concept art Delirious New York  which depicts the surrealistic appearance of New York’s prominent buildings as human figures. Unlike Koolhaas, Crasset is unable to convey a similar message about architecture and organic concepts visually in as an effective of a way. Praised for its “aesthetic rhetoric” and its exploration with the connection between architecture, nature, and technology, this image is simply lacking all together. The technology is not apparent at all, and the architecture is suggested by highways, which is no means represent architecture kindly. The composition of the vertical trunks verses the horizontal highways create an unwanted effect of confusion, causing the audience to be unsure of where exactly to look. If the image had been more similar to Koolhaus, the audience would be able to identify where the artist intended us to look and why. In this image however, it would have been much more effective if there were less tree trunks and instead of a highway, they were juxtaposed with something else vertical, such as buildings or telephone poles. Either one would give the concept of architecture or technology much more effectively than a highway. The entire collection of Crasset’s concept art appear to be all the same, conveying all of the same wrong messages. One of the main objectives of this collection and exhibit it is to carve out new avenues for experimentation that help shape an insightful solution to urgent issues. This piece however bring nothing to the table but to suggest that we should ditch our civilized and organized cities for a place that does not disturb the nature.

Triptych Window from the Avery Coonley Playhouse by Frank Lloyd Wright

Featured in an exhibit at the Art Institute titled “American Perspectives”, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Triptych Window from the Avery Coonley Playhouse originally linked the interior with exterior through openness and light. Now it hangs next to two pieces similar to it, in a forced imitation. Wright designed this stained glass piece for his well known Riverside, Illinois clients the Coonleys. A whimsical addition to the playhouse for the Avery Cooney School this stained glass piece features shapes that can be interpreted as confetti, balloons, and flags. Wright’s interest at this time in Japanese prints and design are revealed through this glass composition. This Japanese influenced piece mixed with Wright’s love for “festive Americana” breathes celebration and is known as a “kinder-symphony”. By including primary colors and clean lines, these windows represent a simplicity that can be interpreted as the innocence and simplicity of the children that inhabited the space. Though these windows are at the Avery Coonley’s gifted school, they are primarily part of the playhouse area, hence the whimsical and playfulness.

Wright never planned on his art glass being viewed outside of the natural architectural context for which they were designed for. He believed the glass and the architecture complimented each other, and with out one, the other could not stand on its own. Now a day, no one really believes this concept to be true. When Wright designed a house for a client, not only did they get a famous architect who buildings are now landmarks, they got numerous, sometimes hundreds of beautiful stained glass art pieces. Sadly, it is hard to see Wright’s original intent with his architectural/ glass concept since many windows have been removed and placed in museums. This individual piece, though it shouldn’t be viewed as an autonomous piece, successful conveys the feeling, the times, and space it once was a part of.