The form of Jeanne Gang’s newest apartment tower tells you where on the planet it is.
Solstice on the Park, the new Studio Gang–designed rental apartment tower in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood, doesn’t want for inspiration. The building is within spitting distance of Lake Michigan and Frederick Law Olmsted’s Jackson Park, where the Obama Presidential Center may soon rise (pending the outcome of a lawsuit). The interior decor goes out of its way to accentuate these links: The elevators are lined with panoramas of Lake Michigan by the photographer Tom Harris, and in the lobby’s “Olmsted Library,” stacks of books on shelves (all green) have a notable landscape bent. Less literal are the exterior zinc and fiber cement panels (affixed to a post-tensioned concrete slab structure), whose tones evoke the buff brick characteristic of the area.
Then there’s the form of the building itself, striking for its serrated south facade. Windows tilt in from the top floor plates at a 72-degree angle, which matches that of the summer solstice at Chicago’s latitude. In doing so, they shield a portion of the total 250 apartments—ranging from studios to three-bedroom units—from the sun as much as possible in peak summer, when it’s highest in the sky. At the winter solstice, conversely, sunbeams have unimpeded access when lighting up the shortest day of the year. This play of shadow and light has ecological consequences: lower cooling and heating bills, and a diminished carbon footprint.
Denne historien er fra April 2019-utgaven av Metropolis Magazine.
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Denne historien er fra April 2019-utgaven av Metropolis Magazine.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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No New Buildings
The energy already embodied in the built environment is a precious unnatural resource. It’s time to start treating it like one.
The Circular Office
Major manufacturers are exploring every avenue to close the loop on workplace furniture.
Signs of Life
Designers, curators, and entrepreneurs are scrambling to make sense of motherhood in a culture that’s often hostile to it.
Interspecies Ethic
In probing the relationship between humans and nature, two major exhibitions question the very foundations of design practice.
Building on Brand
The Bauhaus turned 100 this year, and a crop of museum buildings sprang up for the celebration.
Building for Tomorrow, Today
Radical change in the building industry is desperately needed. And it cannot happen without the building trades.
Strength from Within
Maggie’s Centres, the service-focused cancer support network, eschews clinical design to arm patients in their fight for life.
Next-Level Living
The availability of attractive, hospitality-grade products on the market means everyday consumers can live the high life at home.
Mi Casa, Su Casa
Casa Perfect creates a memorable shopping experience in lavish private homes.
Enter The Culinarium
AvroKO imagines the future of residential amenities—where convenience, comfort, and sustainability meet.