CHICAGO-Locally based Studio Gang owner Jeanne Gang, the architect of the 82-story Aqua Tower downtown, is one of the 22 fellows announced Tuesday by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, based here. She will receive $500,000 over five years for the commonly known “genius grant.”
The annual grant program selects awardees throughout anonymous nominations and judges for people who show “creativity, originality and potential to make important contributions in the future.” Gang, a Harvard graduate architect who founded her firm in Chicago in 1997, is known for combining bold designs with environmentally-friendly features.
Among other projects Gang has designed is the Media Production Center for Columbia College of Chicago, the Starlight Theater in Rockford, IL, the Lincoln Park Zoo South Pond in Chicago and the Blue Wall Center in Greenville, SC. Her design for the 27,000-square-foot Ford Calumet Environmental Center, a project now under construction on an industrial site south of Chicago, includes salvaged materials from the surrounding area and incorporates advanced systems in heating, cooling and water reclamation.
The $475 million Aqua Tower complex is one of the most recognizable new apartment towers in the downtown, with wavy lines accenting the tall steel, and is considered one of the best residences to live based on its high commanding rental rate. At the same time, energy-efficient features such as heat-resistant and fritted glass, rainwater collection systems and energy-saving lighting systems address environmental concerns, said MacArthur Foundation officials in Gang’s profile for the award.
Gang, 47, said in a statement to GlobeSt.com that she is thrilled to receive the incredible honor which will “help give our studio the space to continue research and experimental work that is not directly tied to a particular project--and therefore not funded,” she said. “As architects we design buildings and spaces, but we also use our creativity to address pressing contemporary issues such as the viability of cities, materials research, and crucial ecological issues,” Gang said. “The MacArthur Fellowship is a vote of confidence to pursue these projects and I am very grateful.”
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