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
| Feb 6, 2012
Slight increase in nonres construction spending expected in 2012, growth projected for 2013
Commercial sector expected to lead real estate recovery.
| Feb 6, 2012
FMI releases 2012 Construction Productivity Report
Downsizing has resulted in retaining the most experienced and best-trained personnel who are the most capable of working more efficiently and harder.
| Feb 6, 2012
Kirchhoff-Consigli begins Phase 2 renovations at FDR Presidential Library and Museum
EYP Architecture & Engineering is architect for the $35 million National Archives Administration project.
| Feb 6, 2012
Batson-Cook announces the appointment of Hall as president
Hall will manage and direct all aspects of the firm’s day-to-day operations. He will be based in Batson-Cook’s Atlanta office.
| Feb 6, 2012
Siemens gifts Worcester Polytechnic Institute $100,000 for fire protection lab renovation
Siemens support is earmarked for the school’s Fire Protection Engineering Lab, a facility that has been forwarding engineering and other advanced degrees, graduating fire protection engineers since 1979.
| Feb 2, 2012
Call for Entries: 2012 Building Team Awards. Deadline March 2, 2012
Winning projects will be featured in the May issue of BD+C.
| Feb 2, 2012
VLK Architects selected for new Cypress, Texas elementary school
The Bridgeland Elementary School will be a new prototype school for the District. Designed to meet the requirements of The Collaborative for High Performance Schools.
| Feb 2, 2012
Mortenson Construction to build 2.4 MW solar project in North Carolina
Located on a 12 acre site in the Sandhills region, the 2.4 megawatt (MW) system is expected to generate approximately 3.5 million kilowatt hours (kWhs) of clean electricity on an annual basis.
| Feb 2, 2012
Shawmut Design and Construction launches sports venues division
Expansion caps year of growth for Shawmut.
| Feb 2, 2012
Fire rated glazing helps historic university preserve its past
When the University embarked on its first major addition since the opening of Hutchins Hall in 1933, preserving the Collegiate Gothic-style architecture was of utmost importance.