IN FOCUS: Jeanne Gang

Widely acclaimed for her integrative approach to materials, technology, and ecological context, Chicago-based architect Jeanne Gang was selected as a MacArthur Fellow in 2011.

Shortly thereafter Gang proposed an ambitious restoration of the Chicago riverfront through a series of small but transformational projects. The WMS Boathouse, designed by Gang and located north of downtown, is one such project, encompassing a field house with state-of-the art training facilities, a boat storage building, and a floating dock at the river’s edge. Completed in 2013, the 22,000-square-foot boathouse is the city’s premier rowing center, serving a range of public rowing clubs, many of whose amateur athletes come from the city’s underserved communities.

This installation showcases dynamic exterior and interior sketches of the complex—recently acquired by UMMA—depicting the distinctive rhythmic contours of the roof, derived from studies of rowers in motion, and the open, angular, and light-filled spaces within.