The iconic centerpieces of the Burnham Plan Centennial will be two temporary architectural pavilions in Millennium Park. World renowned architects Zaha Hadid (London) and Ben van Berkel (UNStudio, Amsterdam) designed these bold pavilions to echo the audacious future-looking images and words of the Burnham Plan: “What we as a people decide to do in the public interest we can and surely will bring to pass.”
The Burnham Pavilions will open to the public on June 19, 2009, when the Grant Park Symphony and Chorus will simultaneously premier a new work composed by Michael Torke called Plans that commemorates the words most often attributed to Daniel Burnham: “Make No Little Plans.” The pavilions will close on October 31, 2009, when they will be dismantled for re-use or recycling.
The sculptural UNStudio pavilion is highly accessible and functions as an urban activator. Framed by Lake Michigan on one side and Michigan Avenue on the other, it relates to diverse city-contexts and scales. The edges of the roof are parallel, but toward the center there is more complexity in the form.
At night, UNStudio’s pavilion becomes a responsive architecture with LED lights that change color and pattern. These lights will be in constant flux as the number of visitors to the pavilion changes. Programmatically the pavilion invites people to gather, walk around and through the space—to explore and observe. It’s sculptural form and reactive lights will spark curiosity and wonder in its visitors.
The UNStudio pavilion is made of steel, clad in plywood, and is covered in high-gloss white paint to reflect the city and pavilion visitors. It will be built of steel donated by Chicago-based ArcelorMittal, and after October 31 will be de-constructed and recycled.
Ben van Berkel is a rising star of inventive, computer-aided architecture with a special interest in the integration of construction and architecture.
Designing Architects: UNStudio of Amsterdam (Ben van Berkel, Caroline Bos with Christian Veddeler, Wouter de Jonge and Hans-Peter Nuenning, Iona Sulea)
Architect of Record: Garofalo Arcitects, Inc.
Fabricator: Third Coast Construction
Interactive Lighting Concept: Daniel Sauter
School of Architecture: University of Illinois at Chicago
Structural Engineer: Rockey Structures
Partners for the Burnham Plan Pavilions include:
- The Art Institute of Chicago
- The Burnham Plan Centennial Committee
- City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs
- Illinois Institute of Technology
- Millennium Park, Inc.
- University of Illinois Chicago School of Architecture
Via: Burnham plan
