“I could just walk around and see the building.”
That’s what one out-of-town visitor said on a recent visit to the Art Institute of Chicago’s new Modern Wing, a 264,000-square-foot
(24,526-m2), $294 million addition that makes the museum the second largest in the United States.
The visitor’s comment is truly no knock on the collections in the new wing-there were many more people gathered around the striking works of Picasso, Dali and Matisse, to name a few-but it says something about the fascinating project designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect RenzoPiano. Housing modern and contemporary art, photography, and architecture and design exhibits, the Modern Wing is an architectural wonder.
Everything appears to levitate in Piano’s designs. The stairs and walls are slightly separated from the ground; a “flying carpet” runs across the top of the building; a bridge connecting the museum to a nearby park seems almost suspended in air; and steel support columns reach the ground as only small points.
The Modern Wing is a decided contrast to the original Art Institute building-a mostly limestone neoclassical design. It serves as a second entrance to the museum and is meant to interact with Chicago’s impressive skyline and architectural tradition.
The project also does not sacrifice environmental considerations for a distinctive design. The Art Institute is applying for a LEED Silver certification for the addition, and the careful choices made for the structure create the right conditions to preserve the invaluable artwork contained inside.
The Flying Carpet
Perhaps the most striking use of metal on the Modern Wing is what’s referred to as the “flying carpet,” a 46,836-square-foot (4,351-m2) steel canopy, featuring angled aluminum blades that act as a shading system for the skylit roof surface.
Meredith Mack, deputy director at the Art Institute and project manager for the Modern Wing, explained that natural light is a trademark of Piano’s designs-and a great deal of natural light does fill up the building-however, too much of it could cause the art to fade.
The flying carpet goes over the top of the entire east side of the three-story building, acting as an extra layer of roof, Mack said, and it extends out over the north side of the facility, which blocks light from the windows.
The aluminum blades are slanted to allow north light in but block south light out, where the sunlight is harshest. Standing on the third floor, it creates an eye-catching effect. Even with glass walls on both sides, you see more shade when you look to the south and less when you look to the north. The artificial lights are calibrated to automatically brighten or dim based on the amount of ambient light coming in.
The lobby of the Modern Wing, a wide-open space with a two-story-high skylit ceiling, also receives the combination of shading and natural light from another sunshade. The result is an airy, welcoming atmosphere.
“Piano’s design recognizes the fact that the art to be displayed on the third floor is best viewed under natural light. To accomplish that you have to have a 100 percent skylit roof surface,” said Bob Larsen of Chicago-based InterActive Design Inc., the architect of record on the project. “The intent of the flying carpet was to weed out all direct sunlight, so you end up with only northlight coming in, and due to the lack of south light there’s really no heat gain with having that kind of expanse across the top of the building.”
“The flying carpet is a very prominent design element of the building,” Larsen continued. “From a distance, or even close up, it is a very major design element. At night, it’s completely illuminated from the underside, so it becomes a big drawing card to the museum.”
Metal in the Details
According to Larsen, Piano’s work is characterized by lightness, airiness and elegant detail.
“Using steel and aluminum, we’re able to get really delicate, intricate profiles to make up the elements of the building. All the decorative elements inside the building-stairs, handrails, guardrails- were executed in steel,” Larsen said. Additionally,custom extruded aluminum profiles were used to create a wall base and corner trim system, and a trim system around the doors.
Along with the flying carpet, the double façade exterior curtainwall-utilizing steel and aluminum- is a major design element of the Modern Wing. “[Piano’s] design is all about lightness,” Larsensaid. “For the façade, the proportion of the aluminum was worked out to maintain the thinness and still meet the structural requirements. The flying carpet structure has some huge spans and overhangs, and the lightness of the steel profiles kept us within the design intent.”
Balanced doors, meanwhile, are used throughout the building to match the exterior curtainwall. The elevators are outfitted with metal mesh and the building’s structural steel came from recycled materials, counting toward LEED. The energy efficient exterior curtainwall insulates the galleries by utilizing a heated or air conditioned cavity between two layers of glass.
An interior curtainwall was utilized to maintain unobstructed views from inside the building to the exterior gardens that surround the education wing of the museum. The glass is a single layer and fire rated. An aluminum and steel framing system that recreates the details of the exterior curtainwall is also fire rated. The entire assembly meets a one hour fire rating as required by code.
Fully Integrated According to Erin Hogan, director of marketing at the Art Institute, the new wing was meant to stand out, but also be a cohesive part of the city of Chicago.From a physical standpoint, this is accomplished with the 620-foot-
(189-m-) long Nichols Bridgeway.
The bridge was partly inspired by the hull of a boat-the rounded “hull” of the bridgeway is made of structural steel painted white, and the walking surface is textured aluminum planking. The railings of the bridgeway are made of steel and wood, and filled in with stainless-steel mesh panels. The Nichols Bridgeway connects the third floor of the Modern Wing with Chicago’s Millennium Park, which sits in between Lake Michigan and the city’s impressive skyline.
The Modern Wing’s third floor features a sculpture terrace with impressive views of the city and a restaurant, both open to the public without having to pay for entry into the museum.
While the bridge forms a connection for people from outside the museum, once you’re inside the glass walls allow you to stay aesthetically attached to Chicago’s architectural presence. It makes the Modern Wing a unique place, one where you can have a stunning view of the skyline as you turn the corner to look at a Picasso.
Hogan said on a daily basis she is stopped by people in the galleries who want to know more about the building. She also noted that because of the added gallery space, precious works have been taken out of storage and put on display.
“It’s been very well received,” Mack added. “Chicago is a city of architecture buffs so everybody wants to see it and has an opinion.”
Green Aspects of the Modern Wing
- Innovative light filtration system, in the form of the flying carpet roof designed by Renzo Piano, works in tandem with an automated dimming system in the galleries to take advantage of as much natural light as possible.
- Finely calibrated dimming system uses photo cells to measure and adjust for fluctuations in light levels according to time of day, season and weather.
- Exterior curtainwall features two layers of glass with a heated or air conditioned cavity so that the inner pane does not conduct heat or cold, insulating the galleries.
- Site plans include landscaping that achieves a 21 percent increase in square footage devoted to greenery around the Modern Wing.
- Construction debris is recycled.
- Estimated energy use for the Modern Wing is half that of the existing building.
- The Art Institute is applying for LEED Silver certification.
- Garden functions as a green roof with mechanical rooms underneath.
Art Institute of Chicago’s Modern Wing
Owner: Art Institute of Chicago
Design architect: Renzo Piano Building Workshop, Paris
Architect of record: InterActive Design Inc., Chicago
Program manager: RISE Group LLC, Chicago
Construction manager: Turner Construction, Chicago
Flying carpet:
• Aluminum blades: Sapa Building Systems, Lichtervelde, Belgium, www.sapagroup.com
• Steel columns and horizontal supports: TEMSAN Inc., Istanbul, Turkey, www.temsan.info
• Exterior curtainwall metal: Josef Gartner USA, Chicago, www.josef-gartner.de
Exterior curtainwall glass: Interpane, Lauenförde, Germany, www.interpane.com
Skylight: Josef Gartner USA
Nichols Bridgeway:
• Bridge steel: Industrial Steel Construction, Gary, Ind., www.iscbridge.com
• Metal decking: Bayards Aluminium Constructies B.V., Nieuw-Lekkerland, Netherlands, www.bayards.nl
Balanced doors: Ellison Bronze Inc., Falconer, N.Y., www.ellisonbronze.com
Elevator metal mesh: GANTOIS, Saint-Dié-des-Vosges, France, www.gantois.com
Interior curtainwall glass and metal: Technical Glass Products, Snoqualmie, Wash., www.fireglass.com
Subcontractors:
• Exterior curtainwall, skylight and flying carpet: Josef Gartner USA
• Miscellaneous metals: Meccor Industries Ltd., Skokie, Ill.
• Balanced doors: MTH Industries Inc., Hillside, Ill.
• Structural steel: Construction Systems Inc., Maple Plain, Minn.
• Interior curtainwall and glazing: Harmon Inc., Eden Prairie, Minn.
