SAIC.nab | 2001 | Chicago, Illinois

Although we are surrounded by an ever-increasing array of connective and projective media, a retroactive intellectual superstructure lags too far behind. This proposal for the School of the Art Institute of Chicago poses questions about the nature of education and aesthetics relative to new media by considering architecture as a field condition, continuous yet varied. Modeled as a dynamic, interconnected network of elements, it represents a fundamental shift in thinking that moves away from singular, monolithic and ultimately fixed hierarchies.

The existing structure is conceived of as a series of stacked landscapes of technology where speculation on the nature and role of digital media may be critically addressed in the form of experimental work. The vertical data-streaming wall is a sinuous weave of plastic ribbons, computer monitors, vitrines, and data jacks that runs the full height of the building, a flexible site that can accommodate functions as diverse as displaying video installations, housing critiques, and disseminating departmental information. A gallery wraps directly up from the sidewalk to the second level, forming a connective tissue between the public zone and the private realm of the school.

With Garofalo Architects