At first glance, the sensuous curves of the 82-story Aqua building on North Columbus Drive and the sleekly horizontal lines of the Media Production Center of Columbia College Chicago, at 16th and State Streets, appear to have little in common.
But both sprang from the imagination and innovative spirit of Jeanne Gang, a 2011 MacArthur Fellowship winner described by the foundation as "an architect challenging the aesthetic and technical possibilities of the art form in a wide range of structures."
To Gang, 47, the desire to avoid conventional approaches arises from the specific needs of whatever building she's designing.
"The way that I start a project is by thinking of working with a material and working within the many constraints of the project," says Gang.
"A lot of people these days start with a form and then try to work the functions and the materials into it, and we really work from the other side of that."
The aforementioned Aqua building stands as a case in point. For all the visual poetry of the building's façade, with its distinct balcony shapes for each floor, Gang was trying to address the experiences of those who would live there, she says.
"The whole reason for doing a high-rise – making it possible for a lot of people to live in a very small footprint – is very appealing to me, because it's more sustainable," adds Gang.
"On that particular site, the whole idea is to be able to get views for people. By pulling in and out (the placement of the balconies), people can see in and out of buildings (nearby) and get views they wouldn't ordinarily see."
Yet this gently undulating effect was possible because Gang employed new technologies in shaping the building's concrete floor plates. By using the latest digital tools in her office and at the site, Gang could shape the concrete so that each floor of the building had a different contour.
"A lot of people treat (concrete) so it looks like stone," says Gang, "but it's liquid and capable of being fluid."
Another Gang creation unfolds inside Columbia College's Media Production Center, where film students learn to create the illusion of depth on the flat screen.
"We thought we would try to embody that in three dimensions inside the building," adds Gang, in explaining why she opted to "create windows that cut through the building, (so) you create these sequences of space," she says. The students are "learning how to make film, and they're in a space that's kind of compatible with it."
If Gang's rising international profile suggests she doesn't need the $500,000 prize or cachet of the MacArthur Fellowship, she offers another perspective. The money, she says, can underwrite research that's not funded by clients; and the MacArthur imprimatur holds personal meaning, she says.
"It's a vote of confidence that other people think that what you're doing is interesting and worthwhile," she says. "It's a vote for us for what we're going to do in the future." BD+C
Related Stories
| May 16, 2012
AIA issues guide to IGCC
Getting the IgCC adopted in all 50 states and in jurisdictions across the country is the primary mission of the ICC, which published the code in March.
| May 16, 2012
Architecture Billings Index reverts to negative territory
Decline is possibly a brief pause from unusually strong winter activity.
| May 16, 2012
AEG releases 3D video of L.A.'s Farmers Field
The Los Angeles Convention Center footage depicts the new convention center hall spaces, including a new lobby above Pico Boulevard, pre-function space, and what will be the largest multi-purpose ballroom in Los Angeles.
| May 16, 2012
Balfour Beatty Construction taps Kiger as VP of operations
Kiger will manage current relationships and pursue other strategic clients, including select healthcare clients and strategic project pursuits in the Central Tennessee region.
| May 15, 2012
One World Trade Center goes to new height of sustainability
One of the biggest challenges in developing this concrete mixture was meeting the Port Authority of New York/New Jersey’s strict requirement for the replacement of cement.
| May 15, 2012
Suffolk selected for Rosenwald Elementary modernization project
The 314-student station elementary school will undergo extensive modernization.
| May 15, 2012
Don’t be insulated from green building
Examining the roles of insulation and manufacturing in sustainability’s growth.
| May 15, 2012
National Tradesmen Day set for Sept. 21
IRWIN Tools invites the nation to honor "The Real Working Hands that Build America and Keep it Running Strong".
| May 15, 2012
SAGE Electrochromics to become wholly owned subsidiary of Saint-Gobain
This deal will help SAGE expand into international markets, develop new products and complete construction of the company’s new, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Faribault, Minn.
| May 14, 2012
Codes harvest rainwater
IAPMO’s Green Plumbing and Mechanical Code Supplement could make rainwater harvesting systems commonplace by clearly outlining safe installation and maintenance practices.
