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Lakefront Kiosks Coming to Grant Park, Montrose Beach, Hyde Park

By Ted Cox | August 5, 2015 1:46pm

CITY HALL — A celebration of the city's architecture is yielding up plans for stylish new kiosks to be constructed along the lakefront next year.

The Chicago Architecture Biennial released a series of kiosk designs Wednesday, including one major prize winner set for Grant Park, two others to be placed in Lincoln Park and another in Hyde Park.

The Rhode Island design firm Ultramoderne won an $85,000 prize provided by lead sponsor BP for its kiosk "Chicago Horizon." To be constructed from cross-laminated timber that allows minimal support from slender columns, it will be on display as part of the Chicago Architecture Biennial when it goes public in Millennium Park in October, and will eventually be placed near Buckingham Fountain, where it will provide space for a food and beverage vendor and shelter for visitors to Grant Park.

This elegant kiosk will house a food and beverage vendor and provide shelter near Buckingham Fountain. (Chicago Architecture Biennial)

"We wanted to create a generous open space — a public interface that allows for the activities and ideas of the Biennial to spill into the public realm," said Aaron Forrest of Ultramoderne. "We are incredibly excited to be a part of this inaugural event."

"Chicago Horizon" topped 420 other submissions from more than 40 countries.

"We were excited to see a team use the opportunity of the kiosk to create a generous public space that could facilitate programs and catalyze new activities on the lakefront," said Sarah Herda, an artistic director of the Chicago Architecture Biennial.

The three other lakefront kiosks were designed by architects in conjunction with local art and design schools. "Rock," designed by architect Kunle Adeyemi along with the School of the Art Institute of Chicago includes concrete horizontal shelters projecting out from the limestone blocks that serve as a breakwater near Montrose Beach.

This kiosk using the limestone breakwater is set for Montrose Beach next year. (Chicago Architecture Biennial)

"The Cent Pavilion," designed by Pezo Von Ellrichshausen with the Illinois Institute of Technology, will construct a 40-foot tower from repeating irregular shapes, to be set at North Avenue Beach.

"Summer Vault," designed by architects Paul Andersen and Paul Preissner along with the University of Illinois at Chicago, will use a set of geometrical shapes on the outside to shelter an interior with two triangular areas. It will go at Harold Washington Playlot Park, near Burnham Park, at 5200 S. Hyde Park Blvd.

The inaugural Chicago Architecture Biennial is intended to be a celebration of the city's architecture, with exhibits planned around Millennium Park and the Cultural Center. It's set to run from October to January.

"The City of Chicago is the place where modern architecture was born — and this exhibition will help us build on our tradition by showcasing ideas that match our city's ambition and aspiration," said Mayor Rahm Emanuel in a statement issued Wednesday. "Through this collection of projects, Chicago will continue leading the way when it comes to showing how cities can think in different ways to create, design and build the great cities of tomorrow."

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