When the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Awards — celebrating the best across architecture, interiors, landscape and product design — were announced in New York, no one was surprised to see Chicago-based architecture and design firm Studio Gang on the winners’ list. Studio Gang’s work has been showcased at several prestigious venues, like the Venice Architecture Biennale, and their portfolio includes the Aqua Tower in Chicago — a stunning 82-storey structure with distinctive wave-like terraces. We gathered a few quotes from founder and principal Jeanne Gang, FAIA on the firm’s celebrated projects:
On receiving the National Design Award: “Architecture is a crucial factor today in the success of everything from business to communities to ecologically healthy environments. We are thrilled to be recognised for playing a leading role in the field.”
On Hyderabad 02: For TSI Ventures/Tellapur Techno-City Private Ltd, Studio Gang created a 25-storey residential cube “eroded with a system of ‘cracks’ to create cross ventilation”. Called Hyderabad 02, the project reimagined the traditional Indian “courtyard” house into a new porous building type. “In Hyderabad, which has a hot, semi-arid climate, we were working with the idea of natural stack ventilation of both indoor and outdoor spaces, as well as the idea of self-shading... these two strategies will create comfortable spaces with lower energy use. On the tower’s western side, where the harshest solar exposure is, we employ a screen that acts as a shade.”
On the Nature Boardwalk at Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago: Through this project, the studio helped transform an urban pond into an ecological habitat. A boardwalk by the pond has provisions for educational zones where knowledge about the flora and fauna in that area could be shared. A pavilion inspired by a tortoise shell and built with interconnected fiberglass pods provides shelter for an open-air classroom. “The Boardwalk... is essentially a zoo without cages, where the animals display themselves voluntarily. They are attracted to the habitat while the public benefits from the proximity that the boardwalk and pavilion provides. At the same time, the pond is storing rainwater and acting as green infrastructure. For me, the larger picture for that project was designing a fun, interactive experience, while supporting biodiversity.”
On City Hyde Park: The project involves a mixed-use development in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighbourhood. “City Hyde Park’s most important feature is its urbanism. It positions many more residences within walking distance of public transportation and its architecture is oriented to the public spaces around it, reinforcing sidewalk use and encouraging walking over driving.”
- Jeanne Gang, founder and principal, studio gang
Deccan Chronicle DC | Rohini Nair | 26th May 2013
