A million dollar view for the Ultramoderne-designed Lakefront Kiosk.
Not all noteworthy exhibits at the Chicago Architecture Biennial are indoors. One in particular offers a spectacular view of Lake Michigan and the city skyline. “Chicago Horizon” is a lakefront kiosk that sits just northwest of Shedd Aquarium.
Lakefront Kiosk interior.
The kiosk was designed by Rhode Island-based Ultramoderne. The project team was made up of Yasmin Vobis, Aaron Forrest and Brett Schneider.
“Chicago Horizon” was intended to create a large flat wooden roofed kiosk built with a modest budget. It uses cross-laminated timber, a carbon-negative engineered material.
Lakefront Kiosk view from the east.
The kiosk is 56 feet square. It expresses the concept of lightness at various scales. The hovering roof lies over a viewing platform and vendor kiosk, both of which are suspended from the roof with chain-link fencing–and no other support.
Lakefront Kiosk roof.
From the viewing platform, the roof becomes a new artificial horizon, effectively shutting out the foreground and emphasizing the vertical Chicago skyline, which sits above an abstract floating plane.
