 |
The Buckingham Fountain visitors pavilions fulfill an important but mundane function, housing food services and restrooms in high style. To enhance the plaza without diminishing the impact of Buckingham Fountain, architect David Woodhouse, AIA reduced the pavilions' size to the bare minimum and sited them as far as possible from the fountain. The pavilions are tucked into the four corners of the plaza, their symmetrical arrangement reinforcing its geometric layout. The forms of the columns and brackets and the variegated green colors harmonize with the trees, while the fan-shaped glass canopies and decorative metal trim evoke the waters of the fountain.
Jurors admired the skill with which the pavilions evoke two of Chicago's architectural giants, Daniel Burnham and Frank Lloyd Wright. Burnham's French, Beaux-Arts influence is evident in the respect for the formal, symmetrical plan, the roof ornament that echoes that on nearby institutions such as the Shedd Aquarium, and the glass canopies that recall Parisian park pavilions. Reminiscent of Wright are the low-pitched roofs with deep overhangs sheltering horizontal building masses. As the jurors exclaimed about the complexity of these small buildings, "the more you look, the more you see."
|
