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
| Aug 11, 2010
Florida mixed-use complex includes retail, residential
The $325 million Atlantic Plaza II lifestyle center will be built on 8.5 acres in Delray Beach, Fla. Designed by Vander Ploeg & Associates, Boca Raton, the complex will include six buildings ranging from three to five stories and have 182,000 sf of restaurant and retail space. An additional 106,000 sf of Class A office space and a residential component including 197 apartments, townhouses, ...
| Aug 11, 2010
Restoration gives new life to New Formalism icon
The $30 million upgrade, restoration, and expansion of the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles was completed by the team of Rios Clementi Hale Studios (architect), Harley Ellis Devereaux (executive architect/MEP), KPFF (structural engineer), and Taisei Construction (GC). Work on the Welton Becket-designed 1967 complex included an overhaul of the auditorium, lighting, and acoustics.
| Aug 11, 2010
Best AEC Firms to Work For
2006 FreemanWhite Hnedak Bobo Group McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. Shawmut Design and Construction Walter P Moore 2007 Anshen+Allen Arup Bovis Lend Lease Cannon Design Jones Lang LaSalle Perkins+Will SmithGroup SSOE, Inc. Timothy Haahs & Associates, Inc. 2008 Gilbane Building Co. HDR KJWW Engineering Consultants Lord, Aeck & Sargent Mark G.
| Aug 11, 2010
High-Performance Workplaces
Building Teams around the world are finding that the workplace is changing radically, leading owners and tenants to reinvent corporate office buildings to compete more effectively on a global scale. The good news is that this means more renovation and reconstruction work at a time when new construction has stalled to a dribble.
| Aug 11, 2010
Great Solutions: Business Management
22. Commercial Properties Repositioned for University USE Tocci Building Companies is finding success in repositioning commercial properties for university use, and it expects the trend to continue. The firm's Capital Cove project in Providence, R.I., for instance, was originally designed by Elkus Manfredi (with design continued by HDS Architects) to be a mixed-use complex with private, market-...
| Aug 11, 2010
Nurturing the Community
The best seat in the house at the new Seahawks Stadium in Seattle isn't on the 50-yard line. It's in the southeast corner, at the very top of the upper bowl. "From there you have a corner-to-corner view of the field and an inspiring grasp of the surrounding city," says Kelly Kerns, project leader with architect/engineer Ellerbe Becket, Kansas City, Mo.
| Aug 11, 2010
AIA Course: Historic Masonry — Restoration and Renovation
Historic restoration and preservation efforts are accelerating throughout the U.S., thanks in part to available tax credits, awards programs, and green building trends. While these projects entail many different building components and systems, façade restoration—as the public face of these older structures—is a key focus. Earn 1.0 AIA learning unit by taking this free course from Building Design+Construction.
| Aug 11, 2010
BIM adoption tops 80% among the nation's largest AEC firms, according to BD+C's Giants 300 survey
The nation's largest architecture, engineering, and construction companies are on the BIM bandwagon in a big way, according to Building Design+Construction's premier Top 50 BIM Adopters ranking, published as part of the 2009 Giants 300 survey. Of the 320 AEC firms that participated in Giants survey, 83% report having at least one BIM seat license in house, half have more than 30 seats, and near...
| Aug 11, 2010
World's tallest all-wood residential structure opens in London
At nine stories, the Stadthaus apartment complex in East London is the world’s tallest residential structure constructed entirely in timber and one of the tallest all-wood buildings on the planet. The tower’s structural system consists of cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels pieced together to form load-bearing walls and floors. Even the elevator and stair shafts are constructed of prefabricated CLT.
| Aug 11, 2010
Integrated Project Delivery builds a brave, new BIM world
Three-dimensional information, such as that provided by building information modeling, allows all members of the Building Team to visualize the many components of a project and how they work together. BIM and other 3D tools convey the idea and intent of the designer to the entire Building Team and lay the groundwork for integrated project delivery.