ROSCOE VILLAGE — Chicago might be known for its soaring skyscrapers and gleaming lakefront, but its newest award-winning piece of architecture is a low-lying building along the city's much maligned river.
The Jeanne Gang-designed WMS Boathouse at Clark Park has been named a 2016 recipient of the American Institute of Architects' Institute Honor Award, "the profession's highest recognition of works that exemplify excellence in architecture, interior architecture and urban design," according to the award announcement.
The 20,000-square-foot WMS Boathouse, which opened in 2013 at 3400 N. Rockwell St., serves as the training base of the Chicago Rowing Foundation and provides public programming.
Clad in zinc and slate, the boathouse's most distinctive feature is its peaked roofline, with undulations that mimic the motion of a rowing stroke. Additional water-themed decorative touches include tiles that reflect colors found in the Chicago River and boat-shaped figures painted over knots in the building's wood.
The award's jury members called the boathouse a "dramatic beacon signaling that the water is a stylish, enjoyable place to be" and praised the design for its "contemporary elegance" and "updated take on the park district's traditional reliance on brick exteriors."
Studio Gang Architects (Jeanne Gang's firm) posted on Facebook that the honor was "a huge win for everyone involved in the project and for the work being done toward revitalizing the Chicago River."
The WMS Boathouse at Clark Park is one of four announced by Mayor Rahm Emanuel in September 2011. Boathouses have also been built at River Park in Albany Park and Ping Tom Park in Chinatown.
The final boathouse, also designed by Jeanne Gang, is set to open in Bridgeport this summer.
The Honor Award recipients — 18 in total, selected from 500 submissions — will be recognized at the institute's 2016 national convention in Philadelphia.
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