Chicago Art Project Museum

Photos

(Click each for a larger version)

Chicago Art Project Museum photo #1
Chicago Art Project Museum photo #2
Chicago Art Project Museum photo #3

Citation of Merit

  • Muller & Muller, Ltd.
  • Chicago Art Project (Chicago Art Foundation)
  • Division Commercial
  • Location Chicago, IL

Overview

Turning on its head the notion of an art museum as a timeless sanctuary for creative work, this project was to be a temporary structure made in part of recycled materials. Intended to showcase Chicago artists' works as a way to generate support for the foundation's plan to build a museum of Chicago art, the structure would have had a limited lifespan, so using transient materials seemed particularly appropriate. Positioned on an L-shaped lot next to the Harold Washington Library, the structure would use as its main space a pre-engineered structure covered with two layers of polycarbonate sheeting and metal roofing. Support spaces would be in converted shipping containers that bookended the gallery. Jurors commended the project for "filling a space temporarily and [that] it can be moved," and they felt that the building's materials and design both communicated the intent of the organization to get the ball rolling now but evolve into something grander in later years.