It’s been nearly three weeks since the Chicago Architecture Biennial kicked off on Oct. 3. Reviews have been generally positive, from the Chicago Tribune’s Blair Kamin calling it a “mixed bag” with a vaguely titled, though well executed, theme, to The Wall Street Journal’s Julie V. Lovine, writing that the inaugural event has “just the right proportion of earnest effort to razzle-dazzle.”
But as Lovine puts it, the event’s title, “The State of the Art of Architecture” is indeed fitting, as it “is a pulse-taking of contemporary architecture as it could be—creative responses that suggest solutions to some of the intractable, quotidian challenges of our times.”
One thing that stood out for BD+C was the experimentation with new building materials and methods, drafted by both established and up-and-coming talents in the architecture world as a response to today’s environment, societal behavior, and business demands. Here are some highlights:
1.Dried Leaves in “The S House” by Vo Trong Nghia Architects
The Vietnamese firm is well known for incorporating nature into its projects, weaving green space in and out of the built area such as seen in their multifamily residential project, and designs for FPT University’s administrative and classroom buildings.
To the Chicago Architecture Biennial, Vo Trong Nghia brings another sustainable concept, The S House, which aims to make easy to build affordable homes that can be sheathed in locally sourced, renewable material.
According to Dezeen, the design was first released in 2012 and has been refined ever since. Each home should cost around $1,000 and can provide relief in countries struck by natural disasters.
The frame is a galvanized steel structure where each components is 130 pounds or less, and can be erected in under three hours. The frame is then sheathed in dried leaves, as displayed at the Biennial, but any other material that is locally available can substitute. The house is one of four full-sized houses on display at the event’s main exhibition in the Chicago Cultural Center building.
2. Cross-Laminated Timber in “Chicago Horizon” by Ultramoderne
The Rhode Island-based architecture firm Ultramoderne was the winner of the biennial’s Chicago Pavilion competition.
Dezeen reports that the Chicago Horizon pavilion was built “using the largest lengths of timber that can be shipped across North America.”
The structure is constructed near the Museum Campus by Lake Michigan, offering views of the Chicago skyline from the south east. The entire structure was built using cross-laminated timber.
The design uses cues from legendary German architect who later made Chicago home, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.
3. Wooden Pallets in Low-Cost House by Tatiana Bilbao
Using wooden pallets to create a rustic, industrial look in interior design has been gracing the pages of design websites for a while, but Mexican architect Tatiana Bilbao is giving the shipping tool a greater purpose.
The architect’s low-cost home design relies on the lightweight yet sufficiently sturdy pallets to establish rooms. They can be shifted around as the household grows or shifts needs.
4. Rocks and Strings in “Rock Print” by Gramazio Kohler and Skylar Tibbits
Towering over attendees in the Chicago Cultural Center is the Instagram-ready, three-legged structure designed by Gramazio Kohler Research of ETH Zürich and Skylar Tibbits of MIT’s Self-Assembly Lab.
According to Archdaily, the structure was created by robotic hands that laid down strings, and between the layers of strings, rocks were placed by hand. A video is the best way to explain this:
The tower of rocks isn’t just an artistic sculpture. As The Wall Street Journal’s architecture writer Julie V. Iovine puts it, “the process has untold potential for sustainable and economic construction using the cheapest materials imaginable.”
Related Stories
| Dec 17, 2010
ARRA-funded Navy hospital aims for LEED Gold
The team of Clark/McCarthy, HKS Architects, and Wingler & Sharp are collaborating on the design of a new naval hospital at Camp Pendleton in Southern California. The $451 million project is the largest so far awarded by the U.S. Navy under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The 500,000-sf, 67-bed hospital, to be located on a 70-acre site, will include facilities for emergency and primary care, specialty care clinics, surgery, and intensive care. The Building Team is targeting LEED Gold.
| Dec 17, 2010
Arizona outpatient cancer center to light a ‘lantern of hope’
Construction of the Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center in Gilbert, Ariz., is under way. Located on the Banner Gateway Medical Center campus near Phoenix, the three-story, 131,000-sf outpatient facility will house radiation oncology, outpatient imaging, multi-specialty clinics, infusion therapy, and various support services. Cannon Design incorporated a signature architectural feature called the “lantern of hope” for the $90 million facility.
| Dec 17, 2010
Cladding Do’s and Don’ts
A veteran structural engineer offers expert advice on how to avoid problems with stone cladding and glass/aluminum cladding systems.
| Dec 17, 2010
5 Tips on Building with SIPs
Structural insulated panels are gaining the attention of Building Teams interested in achieving high-performance building envelopes in commercial, industrial, and institutional projects.
| Dec 17, 2010
How to Win More University Projects
University architects representing four prominent institutions of higher learning tell how your firm can get the inside track on major projects.
| Dec 13, 2010
Energy efficiency No. 1 priority for commercial office tenants
Green building initiatives are a key influencer when tenants decide to sign a commercial real estate lease, according to a survey by GE Capital Real Estate. The survey, which was conducted over the past year and included more than 2,220 office tenants in the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, Sweden, the UK, Spain, and Japan, shows that energy efficiency remains the No. 1 priority in most countries. Also ranking near the top: waste reduction programs and indoor air.
| Dec 7, 2010
Are green building RFPs more important than contracts?
The Request for Proposal (RFP) process is key to managing a successful LEED project, according to Green Building Law Update. While most people think a contract is the key element to a successful construction project, successfully managing a LEED project requires a clear RFP that addresses many of the problems that can lead to litigation.
| Dec 7, 2010
Blue is the future of green design
Blue design creates places that are not just neutral, but actually add back to the world and is the future of sustainable design and architecture, according to an interview with Paul Eagle, managing director of Perkins+Will, New York; and Janice Barnes, principal at the firm and global discipline leader for planning and strategies.
| Dec 7, 2010
Green building thrives in shaky economy
Green building’s momentum hasn’t been stopped by the economic recession and will keep speeding through the recovery, while at the same time building owners are looking to go green more for economic reasons than environmental ones. Green building has grown 50% in the past two years; total construction starts have shrunk 26% over the same time period, according to “Green Outlook 2011” report. The green-building sector is expected to nearly triple by 2015, representing as much as $145 billion in new construction activity.
