Top dog: a series of lakefront kiosks reinvent the hot dog stand in Chicago
![Minimalist structure with a flat roof, at sunset](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/JF6VFDaUDa4D9ZftzPApvG-415-80.jpg)
Chicago, a city known for its architecture, also has another claim to fame: hot dogs. But until now, those two points of pride have been kept mostly separate. The skyline may be filled with landmarks of architectural history, but hot dogs tend to be vended in rickety kiosks.
When plans for the Chicago Architecture Biennial started taking shape, Sarah Herda and Joseph Grima, the event's co-artistic directors, were determined to leave a lasting impression on the city. There would be temporary exhibitions, of course, but they wanted to use the biennial platform as a way to commission permanent structures. With this in mind, they set their sights on some of these modest off-the-shelf vending kiosks -'hot-dog stands,' as Herda calls them - that dot the long stretch of public space along the city's lakefront.
In partnership with the Chicago Park District, a design competition, which drew over 400 submissions, asked architects to imagine new lakefront kiosks. The winning team, Ultramoderne's Yasmin Vobis and Aaron Forrest, and structural engineer Brett Schneider, unveiled their kiosk during the biennial's recent opening proceedings. Made with cross-laminated timber, the 17m2 canopy offers shade, while an opening in the roof provides a unique way to view the surrounding horizon. Situated on the lakefront just north of the Field Museum, the pavilion is intended to operate as a library during the biennale before it becomes a commercial vending space.
The biennial organisers also commissioned three other kiosks by pairing local schools with established firms. The University of Illinois at Chicago partnered with two firms, Independent Architecture and Paul Preissner Architects, to create a light blue barrel vault, now positioned directly adjacent to Anish Kapoor's Cloud Gate. IIT College of Architecture and Pezo von Ellrichshausen created a series of stacked hexagonal volume that reach upward like a telescoping ziggurat, now on view just outside IIT's Crown Hall. For the third, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago worked with NLÉ on a system of limestone and concrete elements that can be reconfigured based on need.
When the biennial officially closes on January 3, 2016, these four structures will remain, and, during the spring of 2016, the city will position them along the waterfront, where they will allow vendors to sell their products, hot dogs or otherwise. Organisers hope to repeat the process for subsequent biennials. As Herda envisions, "the grand plan would be to replace the old structures incrementally and make a trail of contemporary architecture."
The project, created in partnership with the Chicago Park District, asked participants to reimagine the lakefront kiosk
Made with cross-laminated timber, the 17m2 canopy offers shade, while an opening in the roof provides a unique way to view the surrounding horizon
The biennial organisers also commissioned three other kiosks by pairing local schools with established firms
The University of Illinois at Chicago partnered with two firms, Independent Architecture and Paul Preissner Architects, to create a light blue barrel vault, now positioned directly adjacent to Anish Kapoor's Cloud Gate
INFORMATION
Photography: Tim Harris
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
-
Feel at home at Auberge, Château La Coste's new inn for culture lovers
Auberge La Coste sits at the heart of the art-filled estate, minutes away from the joyful town of Aix-en-Provence
By Harriet Thorpe Published
-
This Nova Lima apartment is a Brazilian family oasis with striking Minas Gerais views
A Nova Lima apartment designed by Jacobsen Arquitetura celebrates its long, natural Minas Gerais vistas
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Commune’s sustainable personal care products look ‘quite unlike anything else’
Commune’s Somerset-made products stand out in the sustainable skincare crowd. Madeleine Rothery speaks with the brand’s co-founders Kate Neal and Rémi Paringaux
By Madeleine Rothery Published
-
IM Pei's Everson Museum of Art gets a modern makeover
The East Wing of the Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse, NY has been given a contemporary refresh by emerging Los Angeles studio MILLIØNS
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Black Modernism’s lesser-known, at-risk architecture gems gain a lifeline
Conserving Black Modernism announces vital funding to save and preserve overlooked and endangered buildings by African American architects and designers
By Bridget Downing Published
-
Step into the Blanton Museum of Art's reimagined public realm by Snøhetta in Austin
Blanton Museum of Art in Austin, Texas is completed and reveals its reimagined public realm and plaza designed by Snøhetta
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
This New York Townhouse renovation is a lesson in contemporary minimalism
TenBerke’s carefully considered New York townhouse is the reimagining of a century-old Manhattan structure that reframes vertical living
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
The Duho Pavilion by Limbo Accra immerses us into its Caribbean setting
The Duho Pavilion by Limbo Accra is a Cayman Islands landscape project that celebrates the Indigenous Caribbean Taino people
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Visit The Frost House, a lesser-known modernist architecture marvel in Michigan City
The Frost House is a lesser-known midcentury architecture gem in Michigan City, Indiana; we took the tour as the property goes on the market
By Audrey Henderson Published
-
Broadway designer Scott Pask’s Arizona retreat is a scene-stealing discovery
Scott Pask invites us inside his Arizona retreat, nestled in the foothills overlooking Tucson – a place to reboot, recharge and commune with nature
By Michael Webb Published
-
Upstate New York retreat Ridge House evokes land art
Ridge House in upstate New York, the work of Brooklyn-based studio Worrell Yeung, is at one with the surrounding countryside
By Ellie Stathaki Published