As part of the Burnham Plan Centennial celebrations, the Burnham Pavilion by Zaha Hadid Architects triggers the visitors' curiosity and encourages them to consider the future of Chicago. The design of the temporary pavilion merges new formal concepts with the memory of Burnham's bold, historic urban planning.
Superimpositions of spatial structures with hidden traces of Burnham's Plan are overlaid and inscribed within the structure to create unexpected results.
“Our design continues Chicago's renowned tradition of cutting edge architecture and engineering, at the scale of a temporary pavilion, whilst referencing the organizational systems of Burnham's Plan.” said Zaha Hadid. “The structure is aligned with a diagonal in Burnham's early 20th Century Plan of Chicago. We then overlay fabric using contemporary 21st Century techniques to generate the fluid, organic form – while the structure is always articulated through the tensioned fabric as a reminder of Burnham's original ideas.”
The pavilion is composed of an intricate curved aluminium structure, with each element shaped and welded in order to create its fluid form. Fabric skins have been tightly zipped around the metal frame to create the curvilinear shape. The interior skin also serves as the screen for a video installation by Thomas Gray that explores Chicago's past and future.
Designed and built for re-use after its role in Milennium Park, the pavilion can be re-installed at other sites. The Burnham Pavilions will be open and free to the public in Millennium Park through October 31, 2009.
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