MARWEN
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 2000
This 15,000sf facility serves as the new home for Marwen, a not-for-profit foundation that supports under-served high school students in the studio arts. Situated on two floors of a heavy timber manufacturing building in Chicago, the facility represents a threefold growth from its predecessor. The first floor houses a main public gallery for student work and administrative offices, while the second floor houses the education staff offices, an Alumni gallery, a library, and three instructional studios. A new monumental steel and concrete stair connects the two floors.
The two floors were gutted to expose the raw structure. Tooled concrete floors were poured to provide appropriate sound deadening as well as compliment the warm tones of the existing brick and wood. The color palette of the formal gallery spaces was kept spartan, allowing student work to take the lead, while vibrant color appears around corners in the informal support spaces. All building system elements were color coded, reinforcing the simple elegance of the industrial model. The build-out cost was approximately 30 dollars per square foot.
The goal of the architecture was to provide a safe harbor for students, while at the same time liberating them to explore. Within this space, materials and elements become part of an instructional language that is intended to be “read” by future generations of artists, designers and architects.
Photos by Steve Hall, Hedrich-Blessing. General Contractor was GGC (Goldberg General Contracting).
Library
Situated adjacent to the central stair, the library provides a critical centrally located resource.
Gallery
The gallery encircles the central stair on the main floor.
Stair from Above
A view of the stair from the upper landing, looking down.
Stair, Oblique View
View of the stair above a plinth that serves as a podium for sculptures and a sitting bench.
Reception Desk
Outfitted with a poured concrete top and Douglas-fir shrouds, the reception desk stands quietly by the main entry.
Upper Landing
The view from the upper landing reveals the daylit library and the gallery below.
In Session
A classroom in session.
Classroom
Located along the perimeter, the classrooms enjoy abundant natural light.
Stair Detail
The central stair was fabricated from structural steel tubing and bent steel plates.
