kunlé adeyemi sources natural limestone rocks for lakefront kiosk in chicago
coinciding with the chicago architecture biennial and in collaboration with students from SAIC, the public installation in millennium park marks the midway point before the rocks are re-purposed for the chicago lakefront kiosk.
kunlé adeyemi sources natural limestone rocks for lakefront kiosk in chicago
all images courtesy of NLÉ
occurring at the inaugural chicago architecture biennial, architecture, design and urbanism practice NLÉ, led by kunlé adeyemi has created ‘rock & the bean’ — an installation sited right at the heart of the city’s renowned millennium park. working with the school of the art institute of chicaco (SAIC), the installation is connected to SAIC and NLÉ’s co-creation of the chicago lakefront kiosk ‘ROCK’.
organized around the south side of anish kapoor‘s landmark cloud gate sculpture, the salvaged limestone rocks promote the interaction between man and material. deposited on top of wooden pallets, the exhibition invites and encourages public participation where visitors can add ‘value’ to the raw material by artist facilitated carving, painting, performances and other un-imagined processes. the public art display also highlights the midway journey before the re-purposing stage for the construction of the lakefront kiosk.
the kiosk will ve composed from the raw and historic limestone blocks that once protected the city’s shoreline
the kiosk is to be situated at montrose beach – adjacent to lake michigan – where the limestone rocks engraved with markings from the public will become park of the pavilion’s structure. the project is conceived as an ‘infrastructure box’, consisting of materials and technologies that are found at or belong to the local environment. the composition’s resilient limestone and concrete elements can be uniquely assembled each time to suit different locations, while providing shelter and contributing to the shoreline protection.
conceived as an ‘infrastructure box’ made with materials found at or belong to the local environment
ROCK will be a contemporary pop-up pavilion
the composition’s resilient limestone and concrete elements can be uniquely adapted
the kiosk will provide shelter whilst contributing to the shoreline protection
chicago lakefront kiosk is a collaboration with the school of the art institute of chicago
visitors can add ‘value’ to the raw material by artist facilitated carving, painting, performances
the cultural space will become a magnet for social and cultural life
the pavilion shows a cantilevering balcony
drawing illustrating the form of the kiosk
model
artist and sculptor faheem majeed demonstrating is work next to the bean in chicago
for the ‘rock project’, majeed will enact a performance that brings tribute to the late dr. margaret taylor-burroughs
his work ‘questions how space becomes place, and, further, how places can foster a sense of home and belonging.’
project info:
team: kunlé adeyemi, marco cestarolli, karien hofhuis, bethan nelson, berend strijland
SAIC students: katelyn barbaria, tanner jackson bowman, ik hun chang, yinjie deng, chaim emanuel, hyun sik kim, nayoung lim, yeonji park, kelly grace sullivan, zaiyuan xiao & yunzhuo hao.
faculty: douglas pancoast – associate professor
thornton tomasetti team: ken maschke, nate sosin, lizabeth dubay
support
: chicago park district, pepper construction & theaster gates
the chicago architecture biennial provides a platform for groundbreaking architectural projects and spatial experiments that demonstrate how creativity and innovation can radically transform our lived experience.
the inaugural chicago architecture biennial, north america’s largest international survey of contemporary architecture, launched in october 2015. through its constellation of exhibitions, full-scale installations, and program of events, the biennial invites the public to engage with and think about architecture in new and unexpected ways, and to take part in a global discussion about the future of the field.
the chicago architecture biennial is the vision of mayor rahm emanuel for a major international architectural event and an outcome of the comprehensive cultural plan developed by chicago’s department of cultural affairs and special events. it is presented through the support of BP, and in partnership with the city of chicago and the graham foundation for advanced studies in the fine arts.
the chicago architecture biennial remains open to the public until january 3, 2015.
