Stereoscope Chicago

Project

Pavilion No. 1, Stereoscope Chicago

Location

Chicago, Illinois

Client

Chicago Architecture Biennial

Type

Kiosk

Year

2015

A square, composed of equal nine-foot lengths is stacked to the height of eight feet. A secondary unit is constructed on top to a height of fifteen feet four inches. Shift this stack. Copy, shift and repeat four times. Copy the entire structure, shift four and a half feet up and four and a half feet over. Paint each stack with a two-color vertical gradient, alternating top-to-bottom and bottom-to-top.

Stereoscope is a simply stacked aggregation of railroad ties. The structure is through-bolted at each intersection with common threaded rod and bolt connections. The top portion can be dissembled from the base without damage, allowing for ease of transportation on a flat bed truck and reassembly at another site. The weatherproof and secure enclosure at the bottom of the structure will provide for 100 square feet of work/food prep and/or exhibition space.

The playful nature of the color scheme offsets the intensity of the hyper-rational structure and references the tradition of vibrantly colored beach cabanas.

The basic unit of the structure – one railroad tie – 8” x 8” x 9’ – evokes Chicago’s history as a railroad hub and cross-roads for the nation. The stacked repetition of the assemblage speaks to the rational structures that grew vertically out of the horizontal landscape where the plains meet the lake, Chicago its signature skyline.