six disassembled facade fragments turn into playable open-ended stage in lake forest

Six Facade Fragments Reframe Ragdale Ring as Open-Ended Stage

Front of House is the winning proposal by Gluten for the 2026 Ragdale Ring Competition at the Ragdale Foundation in Lake Forest, Illinois. Rather than defining the Ring as a single stage, the project treats it as a distributed landscape for performance, gathering, movement, and everyday occupation. A series of architectural fragments allows multiple activities and interactions to occur simultaneously, positioning architecture as an active component of the performance environment rather than a static backdrop.

The project takes the front facade of Ragdale House as its starting point. The elevation is scaled to the dimensions required for the Ring and then fragmented into six flat elements with irregular openings derived from the original building’s windows, doors, and edges. Instead of reconstructing the facade as a building or stage backdrop, the fragments are dispersed across the lawn, creating a loose spatial field rather than a fixed performance platform.

The arrangement allows performances to take place in the round, extend across several fragments, or occupy more intimate areas within the installation. Audiences can gather on the surrounding elements, performers can move between them, and multiple events can occur simultaneously. The open configuration allows the spatial organization to shift according to each use.

Disassembled Facade Shifts Between Object, Stage, and Landscape

Resting directly on the lawn, the fragments function as simple platforms while retaining the appearance of an unfinished or disassembled architectural structure. The composition, designed by Gluten Studio, sits between the logic of tilt-up construction, an exploded architectural model, and a stage set displaced from its original alignment. Viewed from above, the six pieces form a recognizable disassembled facade. At ground level, however, the architectural reference becomes less immediate and is revealed through movement and physical interaction.

Openings loosely based on windows, slight changes in slope, and the alignment of the body with individual fragments gradually reveal connections to the original Ragdale House facade. The contrast between the installation’s overall appearance and its experience at ground level is an intentional part of the design, encouraging the architecture to be understood through movement rather than as a single, immediately legible composition. The fragmented arrangement accommodates the required performance footprint while retaining flexibility for smaller or simultaneous events. The system is designed for straightforward fabrication and efficient installation within the residency period, while its construction is intended to remain durable throughout the summer and fall seasons.

At the end of the Ring’s lifespan, the components are intended to be reused, repurposed, or disassembled with minimal waste. Rather than defining a single stage, Front of House establishes a series of spatial conditions that allow performance, gathering, and architecture to overlap within a distributed and adaptable framework.

The project was developed during Gluten Studio’s residency at Ragdale, an interdisciplinary artist residency in Lake Forest, Illinois, supporting artists, writers, architects, and cultural practitioners through residencies, public programs, and commissions. Front of House was selected as the winning proposal for the 2026 Ragdale Ring Competition, an annual program commissioning a temporary installation on the historic grounds for a season of performances, conversations, and public events.

project info:

name: Front of House
designer: Gluten | @studiogluten

design team: Julia McConnell, Paige Davidson, Simon Hollrah, Megan Keith, Nicholas Needham, Genevieve Nichols, Emily Smith, Rifah Tasnia, Heather Waters

location: Ragdale Residency, Lake Forest, Illinois | @ragdale_residency

photographer: Nicholas James Needham | @nicholasjneedham