Norman Kelley. Architecture and Design Gallery
Art Institute of Chicago

The renovation of the Architecture and Design Gallery is inspired by an electrical floor box or a clue left by the building’s original architect, Renzo Piano Building Workshop, that serves as a sly reflection of the Modern Wing’s structural grid. It is from this mundane origin that a system of modular columns is designed to screw into the floor and anchor a range of floating partition walls of different lengths.

In its current state, the new gallery is experienced as a series of adjoining rooms that pinwheel about a central corridor-like space, never touching an extant wall. The renovation transcends one way of organizing flow or displaying works, and instead functions as a modular display system that allows for countless permutations. As the collection of architecture and design works change, so too might the columns through their removal or addition.

While a single column bears only the reference to the original electrical floor box, a collection of columns absorbed by partition walls signals that curation is an everchanging practice with the opportunity to transform space to align with an audience’s needs.

more. www.normankelley.us