Mar. 21, 2011 at 10:09am with 13 notes View comments
Studio GangmonographAqua Towerarchitectureurbanismjeanne gangthe new yorkerbirdsbird nestnest
“In an age in which so much architectural form—even, sometimes, the best architectural form— has no real rationale beyond the fact that it is what the architect felt like doing, there is something admirable about the tower’s lack of arbitrariness. It reclaims the notion that thrilling and beautiful form can still emerge out of the realm of the practical.” – Paul Goldberger on Studio Gang’s Aqua Tower in The New Yorker There are people whom you’ll always want to know more about. Certain movie stars, Freddie Mercury, and Jeanne Gang, architect. Gang is the award-winning designer behind Chicago’s 82-storey Aqua Tower, the world’s tallest skyscraper built by a woman. Prized for its exterior— wavy wraps of balconies that shade apartments, diffuse winds, and encourage birds to nest—Aqua is also covered in a sheath of modern feminine mystique, something seen in ruffles, but felt in the bones. Organized by material instead of project, Gang pays homage to the crucial yet small pieces that lead to buildings. Through the rubble of sketches, diagrams, photographs, and free-write exercises emerges a concept. Notably, Studio Gang doesn’t design like it always has. Though the firm is 13 years old, it takes pains to start each project completely anew. The results are distinct site-specific buildings (high rises to community centers) accompanied by the strata of information collected to assemble them. With their first monograph, the secret of Studio Gang, hand written and almost discarded, is finally revealed.

“In an age in which so much architectural form—even, sometimes, the best architectural form— has no real rationale beyond the fact that it is what the architect felt like doing, there is something admirable about the tower’s lack of arbitrariness. It reclaims the notion that thrilling and beautiful form can still emerge out of the realm of the practical.” – Paul Goldberger on Studio Gang’s Aqua Tower in The New Yorker

There are people whom you’ll always want to know more about. Certain movie stars, Freddie Mercury, and Jeanne Gang, architect. Gang is the award-winning designer behind Chicago’s 82-storey Aqua Tower, the world’s tallest skyscraper built by a woman. Prized for its exterior— wavy wraps of balconies that shade apartments, diffuse winds, and encourage birds to nest—Aqua is also covered in a sheath of modern feminine mystique, something seen in ruffles, but felt in the bones.

Organized by material instead of project, Gang pays homage to the crucial yet small pieces that lead to buildings. Through the rubble of sketches, diagrams, photographs, and free-write exercises emerges a concept. Notably, Studio Gang doesn’t design like it always has. Though the firm is 13 years old, it takes pains to start each project completely anew. The results are distinct site-specific buildings (high rises to community centers) accompanied by the strata of information collected to assemble them. With their first monograph, the secret of Studio Gang, hand written and almost discarded, is finally revealed.

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