American Architecture Prize Firm of the Year Award Building: Inside Art Institute of , 2012 Company Background

Founded by in 1997, Studio Gang is an architecture and urban design practice with offices in Chicago and New York. We work as a collective of architects, designers, and thinkers, using design as a medium to connect people with each other, their communities, and the environment. We collaborate closely with our clients, expert consultants, and specialists from a wide range of fields to design and realize innovative projects at multiple scales: architecture, urbanism, interiors, and exhibitions. A sustainability ethos is central to our practice, coupled with a methodology defined by research and experimentation.

We are currently designing major projects throughout the Americas and Europe, including high-rise towers in Toronto and Amsterdam; a new addition to the American Museum of Natural History in New York; the new Embassy in Brasilia, Brazil; the expansion and renovation of the Arkansas Arts Center; a unified campus for the California College of the Arts in San Francisco; and an interactive installation for the National Building Museum’s 2017 Summer Block Party, among many others. Projects currently under construction include the residential high-rises Vista Tower and Solstice on the Park in Chicago; 40 Tenth Avenue, an office high-rise near New York’s High Line park; the mixed-use Folsom Bay Tower in San Francisco; and a new training facility for the Fire Department’s Rescue Company 2. Our recently completed work includes a new office space for the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation in New York; Writers Theatre in Glencoe, ; and, in Chicago, the Eleanor Boathouse at Park 571, the Campus North Residential Commons, and the mixed-use high-rise City Hyde Park. Other award-winning projects include the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership at Kalamazoo College in Michigan and Chicago’s Tower, Nature Boardwalk at Lincoln Park Zoo, WMS Boathouse at Clark Park, and the 91-acre public park Northerly Island.

Intertwined with our built work, we also develop research proposals, exhibitions, publications, and programming that push design’s ability to create public awareness and lead to change—a practice we call “actionable idealism.” This work includes Reverse Effect, an advocacy publication produced to spark a greener future for the ; Polis Station, an ongoing project exploring how American police stations can be reimagined through an inclusive design process to better serve their communities; Working in America, an exhibition that takes an intimate look at what working means today for everyday Americans; and Civic Commons, a set of design strategies and techniques that any community can use toward reimagining civic assets such as libraries, parks, recreation centers, police stations, schools, streets, and transit.

Our firm-wide awards for design excellence include the 2013 Cooper Hewitt National Design Award for Architecture and the 2016 Architizer A+ Firm of the Year Award. Additionally, Jeanne Gang has been recognized with a 2011 MacArthur Fellowship and the Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur and was named Architectural Review’s 2016 Architect of the Year as part of the Awards. Most recently, Jeanne was awarded an Honorary Fellowship from the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada and the Louis I. Kahn Memorial Award. Our work has also been honored widely, including 2017 and 2015 Institute Honor Awards from the American Institute of Architects, and has been shown in prestigious exhibitions and venues including the Venice Architecture Biennale, the Chicago Architecture Biennial, the , and the .

Work Highlights / Significant Projects

Writers Theatre Glencoe, IL, 2016

Theater’s ability to bring together people across boundaries has made it an Studio Gang’s Role important force in urban life since ancient times. The design for the new home Architect of Record of Glencoe’s Writers Theatre is intended to maximize this potential for a 21st- Client century theater company, creating an architecture that energizes the daily life of Writers Theatre its community and becomes an exciting, region-wide cultural destination. Size 36,000 sf Organized as a village-like cluster of distinct volumes that surround a central hub, the building’s form resonates with the character of Glencoe’s downtown. The Sustainability theater’s two performance spaces—a main stage and a smaller black box venue— LEED Gold Certified employ innovative staging and seating configurations to maximize the sense of Awards intimacy between actors and audience and to enhance the immersive experience of Architizer A+ Awards, Jury and Writers’ productions. Both of these performances venues, in addition to rehearsal Popular Choice Winner, 2017 space and public zones, open onto the central gathering space of the lobby. Structured by great timber Vierendeel trusses with a lighter wood lattice supporting WoodWorks Wood Design Awards, 2017 its second-floor canopy walk, the lobby is designed to accommodate multiple uses including informal performances and community events. Institute Honor Award, Interior Architecture, American Institute The building engages its context through transparent visual connections and ivy- of Architects, 2016 covered backdrops to the surrounding parks. In fair weather the lobby can open to the Honor Award, Divine Detail, adjacent Women’s Library Club Park, allowing the energy and interaction generated Design Excellence Awards, AIA inside the theater to extend outward into the community beyond. At night, the Chicago, 2016 theater glows from within, drawing interest and activity to this important civic and Honor Award, Interior cultural anchor. Architecture, Design Excellence Awards, AIA Chicago, 2016

Citation of Merit, Distinguished Building, Design Excellence Awards, AIA Chicago, 2016

“Writers Theatre ... is the finest piece of theatrical construction to be built in this country in the past decade.” —Terry Teachout, Wall Street Journal University of Chicago Campus North Residential Commons Chicago, IL, 2016

Featuring a mix of student residences, dining options, amenities, retail, and Studio Gang’s Role outdoor green spaces, the Campus North Residential Commons offers the kinds Architect of Record of social spaces and experiences that enhance campus and academic life for Client today’s undergraduates. The full-block site is designed as a new, welcoming portal University of Chicago to the University, encouraging interactions and exchange among students while also strengthening connections between students and the surrounding community. Size 400,000 sf

The design situates three slender bar buildings in an urban fabric of plazas, Sustainability gardens, walkways, and courtyards that together form inviting public and semi- Targeting LEED Gold private outdoor spaces for students and neighbors. The buildings are scaled to their context, with the tallest structure completing the urban edge of busy 55th Street, while the lower structures are more attuned to the residential neighborhood along University Avenue. Pre-cast concrete panels are used to clad the building, a contemporary facade informed by the University’s neo-Gothic tradition.

Enhancing the University’s House system, which encourages interaction and collaboration between students of different years to support social and academic success, the buildings are organized around House hubs, three-story communal spaces that are designed to feel comfortable and homey. First- and second-year students live closest to the hubs in single and double rooms, while third- and fourth-year students enjoy more private, apartment-like spaces with kitchens and bathrooms. Each hub offers distinct spaces for studying, cooking, and relaxing in small groups or individually, while also enabling all House members to assemble together to discuss household chores and energy use and to plan group activities or study sessions. All eight Houses share communal spaces such as the top-floor Reading Room, music rehearsal rooms, outdoor courtyards, and spaces for studying and gathering, creating additional opportunities for relationship building among students.

The buildings’ materials—including insulated pre-cast concrete panels, insulated metal panels, fritted glazing, and patterned grilles—are finely tuned at each exposure to precisely balance heat gain, heat loss, and daylight for every space. Students are able to individually control the conditioning of their rooms, and the House hubs as a whole are able to monitor their overall energy and resource use, promoting awareness of the spaces’ environmental impact.

City Hyde Park Chicago, IL, 2016

City Hyde Park rethinks the urban apartment building, bringing new options Studio Gang’s Role for living, recreation, and leisure to its full-block site—formerly a strip mall Architect of Record and under-used parking lot. Located at a busy commercial intersection near Client and adjacent to a commuter rail stop, it is designed as a Antheus Capital pedestrian-friendly hub that has a positive impact on the continued urban evolution of its neighborhood. Size 500,000 sf

Featuring indoor and outdoor amenities, the residential tower rises from the Sustainability plinth, which supports an expansive green roof and is anchored by a grocery Targeting LEED Silver store—a new and necessary neighborhood amenity. At street level, wider, Awards improved sidewalks complement the building’s retail arcade, contributing to Honor Award, Divine Detail, a dynamic, walkable community scene. Design Excellence Awards, AIA Chicago, 2016 The tower’s facade emphasizes its structure with a playful array of stacked Citation of Merit, Distinguished concrete panels forming columns, bays, sunshades, and balconies, offering Building, Design Excellence multiple opportunities for residents to socialize, enjoy the outdoors, and Awards, AIA Chicago, 2016 connect to the surrounding neighborhood and city. The building’s balcony “stems” act as columns that take gravity loads to the ground. Platforms extend from the stems in phyllotactic patterns that allow oblique sight lines between neighbors, encouraging social connectivity through architecture.

Chicago River Boathouses Chicago, IL, 2016 & 2013

The WMS Boathouse at Clark Park and Eleanor Boathouse at Park 571, two of Studio Gang’s Role four boathouses built throughout Chicago as part of a city-wide initiative, offer the Architect of Record public unprecedented access to the Chicago River. As the city works to transform Client the long-polluted and neglected river into its next recreational frontier, the Chicago Park District boathouses invite communities throughout the city to share in the river’s continued ecological and infrastructural revitalization. Size 22,600 sf and 19,000 sf

Each boathouse is divided into two distinct structures that form a portal to the Sustainability water’s edge. The field houses accommodate year-round training programs Targeting LEED Silver for both youth and adult rowing clubs and organizations, providing space for team Awards practice, general fitness, and courses for people with disabilities. After-school Institute Honor Award, mentoring programs and neighborhood gatherings also take place in these spaces. Architecture, American Institute The boat storage buildings house rental kayaks and canoes as well as the rowing of Architects, 2016 teams’ eight-person shells. Large outdoor aprons and docks allow for maneuvering A+ Award, Jury Winner, onto the river and embrace each site’s distinct river condition. Architizer, 2015

The design of the boathouses translate the motion and rhythm of rowing into Shortlist, Sport and Civic sculptural roof forms, providing visual interest while also offering spatial and Categories, World Architecture Festival, 2014 environmental advantages that allow the boathouses to adapt to Chicago’s distinctive seasonal changes. With structural truss shapes alternating between Citation of Merit, Distinguished an inverted “V” and an “M,” the roofs achieve a rhythmic modulation that lets Building Award, Design in southern light through the buildings’ upper clerestories. In summer, the Excellence Awards, AIA Chicago, 2014 clerestories let in fresh air, while in winter, they allow sunlight to warm the floor slabs, minimizing energy use year-round. American Architecture Award, Chicago Athenaeum, 2014 Located in public parks, the boathouses serve people from all over the city, but Merit Award, AZ Awards for are especially welcoming to youth rowing teams that prepare young people for Design Excellence, AZURE success by teaching teamwork and self-discipline and encouraging personal Magazine, 2014 growth. In addition to highlighting the need for the continued revitalization of the river, the boathouse facilities allow for the expansion of these rowing and Green Ribbon, Blue Ribbon Awards, Friends of the Chicago mentoring programs and extend their opportunities to youth throughout Chicago. River, 2014

Ecologically, the overall goal of a healthy river led the design team to focus on diverting storm water from the city’s combined sewer system, one of the largest impediments to water quality in the Chicago River. The boathouses’ roof drainage and site design together function as their storm-water management systems, diverting 100% of runoff from the sewer. This solution effectively minimizes the release of contaminants and effluents into the river when maximum capacity has been reached. The boathouses also utilize green infrastructure—porous concrete and asphalt, native plantings, gravel beds, and bioswales (rain gardens)—to store and filter runoff before slowly releasing this newly clean water back into the river. Additionally, existing habitats on both sites were maintained and strengthened with a mix of grass, native plants, and trees, and silt fabric prevented compaction and erosion during construction. These efforts serve as a model for softening the river’s edge along the North and South Branches, supporting its ongoing revitalization.

Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership Kalamazoo, MI, 2014

Historically, convening for social justice has taken place in informal settings—a Studio Gang’s Role church basement, a living room, or even around a kitchen table. The Arcus Center Architect of Record for Social Justice Leadership brings these discussions up from the basement and Client squarely into public consciousness. Kalamazoo College

The Arcus Center works to develop and sustain leaders in the fields of human Size 10,000 sf rights and social justice. As a learning environment and meeting space, it brings together students, faculty, visiting scholars, social justice leaders, and members Sustainability of the public for conversation and activities aimed at creating a more just world. Targeting LEED Gold Supporting this important work, the center’s design is visually open and activated Awards by daylight. The plan encourages convening in configurations that begin to break Distinguished Building Award, down psychological and cultural barriers between people and help facilitate Design Excellence Awards, AIA understanding. The presence of a living room, hearth, and kitchen at the center of Chicago, 2015 the building creates the potential for informal encounters that can spark and build Divine Detail Award, Design relationships. Excellence Awards, AIA Chicago, 2015 The building’s tri-axial organization embraces three adjacent contexts (campus, grove, and residential neighborhood) with arcing walls and transparent facades. American Architecture Award, Chicago Athenaeum Museum of The wood masonry utilized for the building’s exterior is a low-tech and relatively Architecture and Design, 2015 inexpensive method of building assembly used to achieve a high-performance facade. The wood walls sequester more carbon than was released in building them, responding to today’s need to reduce carbon pollution—one of many environmental issues embraced by social justice movements.

“What makes [the Arcus Center] special is partly the novel form, which grows straight out of the center’s ambitions. It’s also the element of handicraft... Mostly, the center’s design is laudable simply for being eloquent and humane.” — Michael Kimmelman, New York Times Aqua Tower Chicago, IL, 2010

At 82 stories, reaching a height of 876 feet, Aqua Tower is one of few tall buildings Studio Gang’s Role to create a community on its facade. Combining a hotel, offices, rental apartments, Design Architect condominiums, and parking, along with one of Chicago’s largest green roofs, Aqua Client facilitates strong connections between people and to the city. Magellan Development Group

The design for Aqua uses architecture to capture and reinterpret the human and Size 1.9 million sf outdoor connections that occur more naturally when living closer to the ground. Its distinctive form is achieved by varying the floor slabs across the height the tower Sustainability based on criteria such as views, sunlight, and use. Certified LEED-NC

Awards Strategically sculpting the shape of each floor slab offers comfortable outdoor International Highrise terraces where neighbors can casually and comfortably interact when desired as Award Finalist, Deutsches well as views to Chicago landmarks, navigating sight lines around the corners and Architekturmuseum, 2010 through the gaps between existing buildings. The overall design is the cumulative Honor Award, Distinguished result of responses to specific conditions of density, environment, and use. Building, AIA Chicago, 2010

Skyscraper of the Year, Emporis, 2009

Annual Design Review Honorable Mention, Architect Magazine, 2009

“Proggy” Award, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), 2009

American Architecture Award, Chicago Athenaeum, 2008

Columbia College Chicago Media Production Center Chicago, IL, 2010

By making typically behind-the-scenes aspects of the filmmaking process visible, Studio Gang’s Role the Media Production Center is more than a building in Architect of Record which learning takes place: it is itself a valuable teaching and media production Client tool. Featuring three large sound stages for instruction in film, video, and motion Columbia College Chicago capture, as well as teaching space for lighting, set-making, directing, and animation classes, the Media Production Center is a professional-quality facility whose design Size 35,000 sf facilitates a new level of collaboration among students and faculty. Sustainability The building is organized to increase student interaction and encourage inter- Certified LEED Gold disciplinary projects among visual storytellers. The highly frequented equipment Awards check-out space is located at the heart of the building, creating opportunities Citation of Merit, Distinguished for casual exchange between students that could spark collaboration. The sound Building Award, Design stages, sized to allow multiple classes to participate during filmmaking, are Excellence Awards, AIA Chicago, wrapped with classrooms and circulation spaces, producing the double benefit of 2010 reducing noise and vibration for the sensitive studios and bringing daylight to the classrooms. A large lobby space doubles as a classroom and student lounge, and a green roof also provides space for socializing.

The programs are visually connected using cinematic techniques, allowing the building to demonstrate its subject. The facade is designed to generate new visibility for the school by harnessing the materiality of light to energize the exterior of the building and provide a colorful identity in a busy urban setting. At the time of its completion, the Media Production Center—the first purpose-built structure in Columbia’s 118-year history—offered a new model for sustainability in a discipline known for its high energy consumption, featuring innovative green roof and hybrid radiant heating and cooling systems, among other strategies.

SOS Children’s Villages Lavezzorio Community Center Chicago, IL, 2008

As the central hub of SOS Children’s Villages Chicago, which serves children Studio Gang’s Role and foster care families in the city’s Auburn-Gresham neighborhood, the Lavezzorio Architect of Record Community Center combines social services and neighborhood amenities under Client one roof. Multi-faceted, naturally lit public spaces encourage a range of learning SOS Children’s Villages Illinois opportunities and social interaction. Daycare classrooms are organized around a south-facing courtyard on the ground floor, with caseworkers’ offices, counseling Size 16,000 sf areas, and a large multi-purpose community room on the second floor. Connecting the levels, a large structural stair serves as a mountain-like landscape for playing, Awards climbing, performing, and hanging out, with a lobby at the top of the stair doubling First Place, Award for as a computer lab. Architectural Excellence in Community Design, Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, 2009 Designing for a social service agency in the United States demands a different mode of practice because there is so often a lack of sufficient funding, and High Commendation, Civic in-kind donations were required for much of the Community Center’s materials. Category, World Architecture Festival, 2008 The original design called for a masonry structure, and a portion of the building does utilize brick; however when a significant donation of brick fell through, the Citation of Merit, Distinguished design team decided to reveal the structure beneath. The building’s dynamic, Building Award, Design layered concrete wall highlights the cold joints produced when concrete is poured, Excellence Awards, AIA Chicago 2008 emphasizing these striations through different concrete mixes and resulting in a beautifully unique facade that tells the story of the building’s construction. Citation of Merit, Divine Detail Award, Design Excellence Awards, AIA Chicago, 2008

Best Building Award, Building Congress of Chicago, 2008

Supporting Materials

Publications

Reveal 2011

The first book about Studio Gang’s work, Reveal presents an in-depth look at our unique process through a variety of previously unpublished material.

Drawings, diagrams, sketches, and photographs illuminate the evolution of eight featured projects. Essays and interviews on design and research are also featured, including written contributions from diverse collaborators and other specialists: an ornithologist, a stone mason, a real estate developer, a landscape architect, community activists, and engineers. Pushing the boundaries of the architectural monograph, Reveal captures the developing trajectory of a rising international practice.

A new Studio Gang monograph is forthcoming.

Reverse Effect: Renewing Chicago’s Waterways 2011

The invasive carp crisis served as the catalyst for the Studio to explore how the complex challenges facing Chicago’s waterways could generate the revolutionary rebirth of its riverfront.

The result of a yearlong collaboration between the Studio, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and students from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, Reverse Effect was sparked by NRDC’s 2010 report calling for a barrier in the Chicago River’s South Branch to separate the and Mississippi Watersheds and thereby prevent invasive carp from entering Lake Michigan. Investigating how dividing the river could also connect and recharge surrounding neighborhoods led to the discovery of exciting new possibilities for the city and its waterways.

Reverse Effect serves as a tool to empower a new generation of Chicagoans— from architects and designers to policymakers, advocates, and everyday citizens—to reimagine and reshape the river’s future together, as well as a road map for the nation’s broader river renaissance. Building: Inside Studio Gang Architects 2012

Setting record attendance during its run at the Art Institute of Chicago, our first solo exhibition, Building: Inside Studio Gang Architects, examined twelve built and unbuilt projects through the lens of four major issues facing contemporary architecture: its relationship to nature, the development of dense urban areas, the integration of the ideas of community members, and architecture and performance.

Featuring essays, interviews, sketches, and drawings—many previously unpublished—this exhibition catalogue provides an insider’s look at our practice. Selected Exhibitions

Hive 2017

Presented as part of the National Building Museum’s 2017 Summer Block Party installation, Hive creates an exciting, interactive space buzzing with activity and sound. Soaring to the uppermost reaches of the Museum, Hive is built entirely of wound paper tubes, a construction material that is lightweight, recyclable, and renewable. The tubes vary in size from several inches to 10 feet high and are interlocked through varying patterns of notching to create three interconnected domed chambers. Reaching 60 feet tall, the installation’s tallest chamber unites visitors under a 10-foot oculus that filters natural light, creating intricate patterns in the space. The tubes feature a reflective silver exterior and vivid magenta interior, offering a spectacular visual contrast with the Museum’s historic nineteenth-century interior and colossal Corinthian columns.

Within the chambers, visitors are invited to explore how a structure can modify and reflect sound. The smaller chambers promote organic, intimate encounters and play with tubular instruments ranging from simple drum-like tubes to chimes suspended within the space. The unique acoustic properties of each chamber affect the instruments’ tone, reverberation, and reflection as well as visitors’ perceptions. The installation is complemented by interactive experiences related to sound and architecture, including Philadelphia-based design educator Alex Gilliam’s notched cardboard Disk-its, which provide a hands-on cooperative building activity, and performances by dog and pony dc, a theater collective of hearing and deaf artists, and cross-cultural percussionist Steve Bloom. Together the installation and activities activate the space of the Museum’s Great Hall, bringing people together in a dynamic sonic environment to explore and engage.

Working in America 2016–17

Working in America is a multimedia, interactive exhibition that takes an intimate look at what working means today through the raw, honest stories of hardworking Americans. The exhibition, created in collaboration with Project&, opened September 14, 2016, at the Harold Washington Library Center and will travel to other US cities.

Featuring powerful photographs by Pulitzer Prize–winning photographer Lynsey Addario, the exhibition chronicles the everyday challenges, triumphs and realities of working for twenty-four Americans, including a veteran-turned-urban farmer, a retired oil field worker, a high school principal, a car service driver, and a professional escort. Through the individual stories of the workers, issues of economic equity, including the widening wealth gap, and other major conflicts of our times, such as inequitable access to quality education and the impact of globalization on job security and wages, are revealed as unifying themes.

We designed the exhibition to travel, creating eighteen modular displays that also serve as their own shipping containers. Like a steamer trunk, the displays unhinge when they arrive via freight at their next destination, with the interior spaces of the trunks serving as the gallery walls.

50 Designers, 50 Ideas, 50 Wards 2016

What is the role of design in solving community challenges both locally and citywide? 50 Designers, 50 Ideas, 50 Wards featured proposals from designers throughout Chicago that seek solutions to the city’s most urgent urban issues.

Our proposal, Water as Our Past and Future, explores water’s role in defining the city of Chicago, which has a long history of treating its fresh water resources as a dumping ground. Nowhere in the city is this polluted legacy more visible than in the 11th Ward—a neighborhood long challenged by industrial use and misuse of the South Branch of the Chicago River. In addition to visible pollutants on the surface of Chicago’s waterways, invisible contaminants in both the water and below ground will have lasting impacts on the health of our aquifers, rivers, and lakes. We proposed that a cooperative effort between government, universities, technology leaders, designers, and residents could repair past abuses and transform the city’s waterways into healthy, green, efficient, closed-loop systems. By harnessing nature and new water technologies, the city could conserve resources, create jobs, connect to thriving native ecologies, and become a global leader in the next generation of water infrastructure. Hive National Building Museum, 2017 Foreclosed: Rehousing the American Dream Museum of Modern Art, 2012 Chicago Architecture Biennial 2015

For the inaugural Chicago Architecture Biennial, we developed the Polis Station proposal, which explores how American police stations can be reimagined through an inclusive design process to better serve their communities. Guided by conversations with community organizers, policy makers, academics, police officers, and everyday Chicagoans, the proposal suggests programmatic and physical modifications to a police station in Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood. Working with the community, we were able to realize a small part of the proposal by building a basketball court in an unused section of the station’s parking lot, with current plans to expand the project to include park-like green spaces. The basketball court invites neighbors, and especially young people, to engage with the station in a new way and creates opportunities for non-enforcement interactions between police officers and the people they serve. Following its exhibition at the Biennial, the proposal was shared with the public as a set of guidelines for any community to adopt toward realizing improvements in police-community relations.

Building: Inside Studio Gang Architects 2012–13

Immersing museum visitors in the creative process, Building: Inside Studio Gang Architects, our first solo exhibition, embodied the energy and ideas that connect our growing body of work.

In the main gallery space, visitors could explore thirteen projects through a variety of materials, from early research to final photographs. Five “rope room” installations, custom designed and constructed by Studio members as spaces to hang out and enjoy the experience of the exhibition, were clustered at the center of the gallery.

In the “workshop” room, full-scale mock-ups, material experiments, tools, books, and pin-up boards gave visitors a look into our working method—how ideas take form through research, collaboration, and hands-on investigation. Two “Archi-Salon” events brought together architects and the public for conversations on current issues in architecture and connected fields.

Foreclosed: Rehousing the American Dream 2012

As part of the Museum of Modern Art’s exhibition Foreclosed: Rehousing the American Dream, we developed the Garden in the Machine proposal to revitalize the inner-ring suburb of Cicero, Illinois. Cicero, a former factory town, has struggled with the foreclosure of industrial properties and homes. As a result, its largely immigrant population continues to deal with conditions of unemployment, poverty, and environmental degradation.

Garden in the Machine demonstrates how the remains of Cicero’s industry—its lands, building materials, and rail infrastructure—can be reimagined as healthy, thriving neighborhoods that best suit the needs of residents. Combining technology and natural processes to improve the land, Garden in the Machine blends housing and jobs within new, flexible live-and-work structures interwoven with public green spaces. The project also proposes updated zoning regulations and an alternative form of ownership, empowering residents of Cicero to pursue their own uniquely 21st-century American dreams of health, fulfillment, and prosperity. Recent Talks and Writings

Jeanne Gang at TEDWomen 2016

From a skyscraper that channels the breeze to a building that creates community around a hearth, Jeanne Gang uses architecture to build relationships. In this engaging tour of our work, Jeanne invites listeners into buildings large and small, from the SOS Children’s Villages Lavezzorio Community Center to Aqua Tower. “Through architecture, we can do much more than create buildings, we can help steady this planet we all share.”

Watch Jeanne’s TED talk at http://bit.ly/2lCzf7j. Jeanne Gang at the New York Times’ Cities for Tomorrow Conference 2016

How do the greatest cities succeed? Experts from the New York Times joined the world’s foremost thinkers, policymakers, developers, entrepreneurs, and industry stars to discuss the winning formulas that lead to flourishing cities. Jeanne spoke with the New York Times’ Ginia Bellafonte about designing with a social mission.

Watch the conversation at http://bit.ly/2aFyjHK. “Networks and Social Connections” 2016

In this essay for French magazine L’Architecture d’Aujourd’hui, Jeanne explores how civic buildings can increase social opportunity by conceiving of them as part of a network.

“The Industrial Revolution gave rise to the notion that the human environment, at various scales, should be divided into separate, specialized spaces according to different functions. This was thought to benefit individuals and society by increasing efficiency, economy, hygiene, and other conditions.

Design, then, focused heavily on separation and delineation of difference. A skillful architect, urbanist, or landscape designer was one who could best organize and articulate the distinct “boxes” of domestic life, work, culture, civic life, transportation, or nature. And their creative success was largely judged by how they composed or expressed this differentiated paradigm through material, structural, and other physical means.

Today we are coming to live and to understand life quite differently. The digital revolution offers us the opportunity to blend, network, and knit back together our work and home lives--for better or for worse, depending on whether you can turn Read the full essay at work off. Cultural, political, and economic changes have loosened other formerly http://bit.ly/2pyOYTD. rigid distinctions. And science--in particular, the field of ecology--now offers us a completely different worldview. Rather than seeing the planet as composed of a hierarchy of individual species, we are beginning to understand the complex web of relationships between all living and non-living things that bind together our shared environments. ...”

“Deep Mapping” 2016

“Deep Mapping,” featured in the publication Climates: Architecture and the Planetary Imaginary, traces the history of Marie Tharp’s mapping of the ocean floor to highlight the designer’s role in understanding crucial information about our world.

“Nearly five centuries of marine discovery notwithstanding, the ocean remains largely unknown, unmeasured, and unmapped. This is problematic for many reasons: the ocean is responsible for the production of food, water, and, most importantly, oxygen; as a site of carbon sequestration, it is one of our major defenses against climate change. And yet—because much oceanic territory remains unexplored, humans struggle to grasp the connection between our survival and a healthy marine ecosystem. Compounding this situation are glaring misconceptions about the ocean that remain embedded in public consciousness. Our inability to experience the ocean as we do land has contributed to a view of the ocean as an eternally bountiful, self-sustaining entity too vast and mysterious to require our protection.

Maps can be one of our most powerful tools in changing humans’ understanding of the ocean. By depicting the Earth as an interconnected ecosystem, with land and Read the full essay at ocean mutually dependent, they can effectively reveal that biodiversity, geology, http://bit.ly/2pbNqSW. and the need for resource protection do not stop at the shore. To do so, however, mapmakers need to navigate a tricky balance of data, accuracy, and politics. Two maps in particular demonstrate this point, exhibiting two extremes of a continuum: the 1957 map of the Atlantic Ocean floor by Marie Tharp and Bruce C. Heezen, and a less widely circulated, more recent map of the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone (CCZ) in the Pacific Ocean, published by the International Seabed Authority (ISA) in July 2014. ...” “From Exhibit to Classroom: Transitioning Aquariums and Zoos for the Twenty-First Century” 2016

In this essay for the journal Minding Nature, Jeanne explores a new model for aquariums and zoos that transitions them from entertainment to education.

“People young and old are captivated by Calypso, the Green Sea Turtle who lives at the National Aquarium. Whether swimming in the crystal-blue waters of the Blacktip Reef exhibit, nibbling on romaine lettuce and the occasional squid, or peeking her head out just above the glistening surface, the five-hundred-pound, three-flippered Calypso is a sight to behold. ...

By providing Calypso with a clean habitat, ample food, and medical care, the National Aquarium has likely spared her from the fate of many sea turtles in the wild who face mounting challenges including poaching, bycatch, disease, and habitat loss. ...

But while the experience of seeing Calypso in the Blacktip Reef exhibit at the National Aquarium is designed to motivate visitors to take personal and political action toward conservation, studies show that it doesn’t. ... How can these well- meaning organizations who do so much for animal rehabilitation, like saving Read the full essay at Calypso, make progress on conservation action? Is it possible these institutions http://bit.ly/2oacuGa. have a business model that is preventing them from succeeding in their missions— and, if it is, how can they bring about change and stay financially viable? ...”

“Three Points for the Residential High-Rise: Designing for Social Connectivity” 2015/16

Presented at the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat’s 2015 conference in New York and published in the 2016 International Journal of High-Rise Buildings, “Three Points for the Residential High-Rise” builds on our ongoing tall building research to suggest opportunities for improving social connectivity.

“Social connectivity is especially important given the changing demographic of city dwellers. Millennials, the current generation moving to cities, are highly social and desire social opportunities that are both virtual and real. Comfortable with sharing, this generation is capable of transforming many established aspects of urban living. ... With information technology in the palm of our hands, in many ways the transformation is well underway. Indeed, all ages desire social interaction; it’s part of being human. Tall buildings need to respond to these desires by becoming social connectors themselves.

Creating social space was a driving factor in the design of Studio Gang’s Aqua Tower... The research that was begun for that project has developed into architectural strategies for tall buildings that continue to grow within our practice, contributing to a morphology that is continually tracked and updated. ... By sharing these strategies, we hope to offer tools that architects can deploy to make tall Read the full essay at buildings more socially connected and responsive to the urban environments in http://bit.ly/2oaehuS. which they are built—and in doing so address the public’s ongoing concerns about the tall building typology while also responding to this uniquely social generation’s desires for cities today. ...” Process and Research

For each project, we undertake a significant research phase before ever beginning design. The research informs our approach and continues throughout the life of the project, resulting in exciting discoveries and innovations. Here, we highlight two case studies showing how deep research, material tests, and hands-on technological experimentation led to defining features of our projects.

Writers Theatre

For Writers Theatre, we introduced an innovative structural solution for a hanging canopy walk using Port Orford Cedar, an exceptionally straight-grained wood that is uncommonly specified for architectural projects yet whose properties lent themselves to the project. For example, in addition to being sustainable, Port Orford Cedar is naturally rot resistant and, like many woods, strong in tension and compression. Because of the material’s strength, we challenged ourselves to secure the hanging canopy without mechanical fasteners, requiring us to further explore its properties and test its limits. To do so, we led a team of engineering and timber specialists in conducting extensive material tests, workshops, and full- scale mockups. Through hands-on experimentation with the material, we were able to design a new type of joint—a flared detail, or “cat’s paw”—that requires no mechanical fasteners to hang and secure the canopy in place. To create the cat’s paw, Port Orford Cedar is steamed for flexibility, garnering its crucial flared shape through wood inserts, while maintaining the directionality of the grain. The shape allows the joint to lock securely within customized beams, providing structural support for a lattice of wood battens. Rather than designing the joint on a computer and bidding it out, we engaged directly with the physical material to arrive at this now signature element of the building. The Writers Theatre Canopy Walk is likely the first instance of wood hung in axial tension. Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership

For the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership at Michigan’s Kalamazoo College, we wanted to support the Center’s mission not only through its architecture but also through its material and construction. To do so, the team researched opportunities to introduce socially conscious and environmentally sustainable material options and building methods, eventually arriving at the local building tradition of cordwood masonry. Wood masonry was appealing for its renewable, democratic, and socially and environmentally friendly method of construction. Its aesthetic was also appealing: the individuality of each log, with its unique shape, size, color, and growth pattern, could be seen as reflecting the diverse population the Center serves. As a collaborative building process that allows people with a wide range of abilities and strengths to participate in construction, it embodies the Center’s values and mission.

While examples of wood masonry in Michigan date back over 100 years, local builders were not familiar with this method, which had never before been used at an institutional scale, as it is typically deployed for small structures. Remaining true to the communal spirit of this heritage technique, we organized a series of training workshops for both traditional masons and the design team to learn the craft of wood masonry and build various full-scale mock-ups. By working closely with wood masonry experts, the traditional masons and each member of the design team became proficient in this time-tested construction method. We then merged this method with twenty-first-century technology, pushing the boundaries of the technique to arrive at the final, unprecedented structure. This collaborative process of research, discovery, design, and implementation led to the successful completion of the building’s wood masonry walls, which not only cost less than typical masonry construction and took less time to build, but also lowered the project’s carbon emissions as the wood masonry sequesters more carbon than was released in its construction. Selected Press 2016–17

William Hanley, “Jeanne Gang: Organic Growth,” Surface (May 2017).

Magali Robathan, “Interview: Jeanne Gang,” CLAD mag (May 2017).

Diana Lind, “Civic Lesson: New Social Infrastructure,” Architectural Record (April 2017).

Paul Keskeys, “After Zaha: What Now for Women in Architecture?” Architizer, March 31, 2017.

Megan Barber, “The 21 Most Spectacular Theaters in the U.S.,” Curbed, March 15, 2017.

Matthew Messner, “City of Chicago Asks Architects to Envision Future of Riverfront,” Architect’s Newspaper, March 14, 2017.

Alex Bozikovic, “Rethinking the Towers that Be,” Globe and Mail, March 13, 2017.

Michael Kimmelman, “In Chicago and Philadelphia, the Difference a Park Makes,” New York Times, March 12, 2007.

Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, “RAIC announces 2017 Honorary Fellows,” Press Release, March 10, 2017.

Gia Biagi, “Reveal, Connect, and Engage: How Design Thinking Can Help Cities,” Reimagining the Civic Commons (blog), March 2, 2017.

Megan Barber, “The 13 Most Important Construction and Development Projects in the United States,” Curbed, March 1, 2017.

Lois Weiss, “New Tower to Serve as Meatpacking ‘Light House,’” New York Post, February 21, 2017.

Jay Koziarz, “Studio Gang’s ‘Solstice on the Park’ Tower Cleared to Rise 26 Stories,” Curbed Chicago, February 13, 2017.

Diana Budds, “Designing a Science Museum for a Post-Truth World,” Fast Company, January 12, 2017.

Olivia Martin, “Jeanne Gang Unveils New Interiors for the American Museum of Natural History,” Architect’s Newspaper, January 11, 2017.

Joann Gonchar, “Interview with Jeanne Gang,” Architectural Record (January 2017).

Nick Mafi, “Studio Gang, SANAA Among Winners of the Most Exciting Award in Design,” Architectural Digest, (January 2017).

Blair Kamin, “Year’s Architecture Standouts Are Women—But That’s Incidental,” , December 22, 2016.

Zach Mortice, “Tall, Green, and Global: 10 of the Most Innovative Architecture Projects of 2016,” Redshift, December 21, 2016.

Tim Bryant, “36-Story Apartment Tower Planned for Central West End Site on Kingshighway,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 9, 2016.

Blair Kamin, “Celebrating a Rousing Year, from Public Spaces to Preservation,” Chicago Tribune, December 8, 2016.

Dong Jin Oh and Ed Komenda, “Eleanor Boathouse Officially Opens in Bridgeport,” DNAinfo, December 4, 2016.

Eric Baldwin, “Around the World in 80 Buildings: North America’s Landmark Projects,” Architizer, November 29, 2016.

Justin Breen, “Northerly Island Is Now A Bird Paradise With 250 Species And Counting,” DNAinfo, November 29, 2016. 2017 ISSUE 2 CLADGLOBAL.COM mag @CLADGLOBAL

FOR LEISURE ARCHITECTS, DESIGNERS, INVESTORS & DEVELOPERS

JAMES CORNER “Landscape architects Neri are the unsung heroes & Hu shaping the public realm” The importance of being subversive SANTIAGO CALATRAVA On his £1bn vision for London

“It’s all about moving us forwards in terms of community & wellbeing” JEANNE GANG PHOTO: ©SALLY RYAN PHOTO: ©SALLY John Stoughton, “Facade Tuning with Studio Gang,” Architect’s Newspaper, November 18, 2016.

John King, “A Design to Watch for California College of the Arts,” San Francisco Chronicle, November 16, 2016.

Matthew Messner, “Studio Gang’s Research-Based Approach to Ecological Design Rethinks the Shape of Urban Waterfronts,” Architect’s Newspaper, November 14, 2016.

Vladimir Belogolovsky, “Jeanne Gang: ‘Without an Intellectual Construct Life is Boring,’” ArchDaily, November 3, 2016.

“2017 AD100: Studio Gang,” Architectural Digest (November 2016).

James Gauer, “A Cluster of Elegant Residence Halls Strikes a High Note for the Neighborhood,” Architectural Record (November 2016).

Patrick Lynch, “OMA, MAD Among 7 Architects Selected in Competition to Redesign Tour Montparnasse,” ArchDaily, October 17, 2016.

John King, “3 Acclaimed Architects in Running to Design SF Campus,” San Francisco Chronicle, October 16, 2016.

Emily Frost, “‘Stunning’ Natural History Museum Expansion OK’d by Landmarks Commission,” DNAinfo, October 11, 2016.

Patrick Lynch, “Studio Gang, Shigeru Ban Among 5 Shortlisted for Arkansas Arts Center Expansion,” ArchDaily, October 4, 2016.

Zach Mortice, “Studio Gang’s Latest Residential Tower Fosters Neighborliness,” Metropolis (October 2016).

Blair Kamin, “Gang’s U of C Dorm Weaves Together a Unique Example of Town and Gown,” Chicago Tribune, September 30, 2016.

Ariana Zilliacus, “Studio Gang Creates 7 Strategies to Reimagine Civic Spaces As Vibrant Urban Hubs,” ArchDaily, September 27, 2016.

Patrick Sisson, “How an Architecture Firm Wants to Revitalize Cities,” Curbed, September 16, 2016.

Meg Miller, “Studio Gang’s Plan to Revitalize Rust Belt Cities? Use What’s Already There,” Fast Company, September 12, 2016.

Carrie Hojnicki, “Studio Gang Completes a Series of Stylish New Buildings for the University of Chicago,” Architectural Digest (September 2016).

Eric Wills, “The 2016 Architect 50,” ARCHITECT Magazine (September 2016).

Matthew Messner, “Studio Gang Proposes Net-Zero School with Three-Acre Urban Farm (Complete with Its Own Goat),” Architect’s Newspaper, August 22, 2016.

Blair Kamin, “City Hyde Park High-Rise Breaks Up Apartment Monotony,” Chicago Tribune, August 20, 2016.

Tanay Warerkar, “Studio Gang’s Futuristic Brooklyn Firehouse Is Officially Underway,” Curbed New York, August 1, 2016.

Thomas Connors, “Rooms of Their Own: A New Era for Writers Theatre,” American Theatre (July 2016).

John King, “Near the Embarcadero, a Tower of ‘Migrating Bays,’” San Francisco Chronicle, June 23, 2016.

“Top 100: American Architecture Projects,” ArchDaily, June 2016.

Matthew Messner, “Studio Gang Reveals Latest Renderings for Academy for Global Citizenship,” Architect ’s Newspaper, May 20, 2016.

Tom McNamee, “Stage Craft,” American Way Magazine (May 2016). Julie V. Iovine, “A Tech-Tudoresque Theater,” Wall Street Journal, April 26, 2016.

Jen Kinney, “Milwaukee Eyes Designs for New Harbor District,” Next City, April 15, 2016.

Alex Bozikovic, “Chicago Architect Aims to Repair Relations Between Police, Residents,” Globe and Mail, April 3, 2016.

Sean Ryan, “Milwaukee Harbor Would Sprout Buildings, Green Spaces and Jobs Under New Vision,” Milwaukee Business Journal, April 3, 2016.

Herbert Wright, “All the Wood’s A Stage,” Blueprint Magazine (April 2016).

“An Iterative Solution: Studio Gang’s Writers Theatre,” ARCHITECT Magazine (April 2016).

Ellie Stathacki, “First Look at Jeanne Gang’s Vista Tower in Chicago,” Wallpaper*, March 29, 2016.

“Design 50: Who Shapes Chicago 2016,” NewCity, March 11, 2016.

Matthew Messner, “From Back Room to Back Stage,” Architect’s Newspaper, March 1, 2016.

Matthew Messner, “The Arcus Center for Social Justice,” Architectural Review (March 2016).

Blair Kamin, “New Writers Theatre Building in Glencoe Has a Flair for Drama,” Chicago Tribune, February 5, 2016.

Cathleen McGuigan, “Design’s Social Agenda,” Architectural Record (February 2016).

Alexandra Alexa, “These 13 Architects Will Reshape the New York Skyline,” Artsy, January 28, 2016.

“Jeanne Gang’s 400-Foot Twisty Tower Gets First Approvals,” San Francisco Easy, January 21, 2016.

John King, “Folsom Tower Developer Agrees to 40% Affordable Housing,” San Francisco Chronicle, January 15, 2016.

“How to Build a ‘Post-Ferguson’ Police Station,” Politico Magazine (January 2016).

Whet Moser, “Architect Jeanne Gang Has a Bold Vision for Chicago’s Police Stations,” Chicago Magazine (January 2016). Selected Awards

Architizer A+ Awards (Jury and Popular Choice), Hall/Theater Category, 2017 / Writers Theatre

Institute Honor Award, Interior Architecture, American Institute of Architects, 2017 / Writers Theatre

Architizer A+ Firm of the Year, 2016

Distinguished Building Citation of Merit, Design Excellence Awards, AIA Chicago, 2016 / City Hyde Park

Distinguished Building Citation of Merit, Design Excellence Awards, AIA Chicago, 2016 / Writers Theatre

Divine Detail Award, Design Excellence Awards, AIA Chicago, 2016 / City Hyde Park

Divine Detail Award, Design Excellence Awards, AIA Chicago, 2016 / Writers Theatre

Interior Architecture Award, Design Excellence Awards, AIA Chicago, 2016 / Writers Theatre

Institute Honor Award, Architecture, American Institute of Architects, 2016 / WMS Boathouse at Clark Park

Shortlist, Cultural Spaces Category, World Architecture Festival, 2016 / Writers Theatre

Shortlist, Higher Education Category, World Architecture Festival, 2016 / Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership

Architizer A+ Award, Jury Winner, 2015 / WMS Boathouse at Clark Park

American Architecture Award, Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design, 2015 / Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership

Distinguished Building Award, Design Excellence Awards, AIA Chicago, 2015 / Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership

Divine Detail Award, Design Excellence Awards, AIA Chicago, 2015 / Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership

Honor Award, AIA Illinois, 2015 / Northerly Island

Award for Excellence in Design, Thirty-third Annual Design Awards, Public Design Commission, New York, 2015 / Rescue Company 2

Distinguished Building Citation of Merit, Design Excellence Awards, AIA Chicago, 2014 / WMS Boathouse at Clark Park

Interior Architecture Citation of Merit, Design Excellence Awards, AIA Chicago, 2014 / PAHC Studio

American Architecture Award, Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design, 2014 / WMS Boathouse at Clark Park

Merit Award, AZ Awards for Design Excellence, AZURE Magazine, 2014 / WMS Boathouse at Clark Park

Green Ribbon, Blue Ribbon Awards, Friends of the Chicago River, 2014 / WMS Boathouse at Clark Park

Shortlist, Sport and Civic Categories, World Architecture Festival, 2014 / WMS Boathouse at Clark Park

National Design Award for Architecture Design, Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, 2013 Jeanne Gang with the 2016 Architizer A+ Firm of the Year Award

The Studio has won four Architizer A+ Awards in The Studio was honored with the 2013 Cooper Hewitt the past two years. National Design Award for Architecture.

Jeanne Gang joined by members of the Studio at the National Design Awards gala Team

Jeanne Gang Mark Schendel Gia Biagi Margaret Cavenagh Founding Principal Managing Principal Principal, Urbanism and Principal, Interior Civic Impact Architecture

Gregg Garmisa Weston Walker Steve Wiesenthal Juliane Wolf Paul Aanonsen Alissa Anderson Principal and General Design Principal Principal Design Principal Finance Director Publications Director Counsel

Claire Cahan Juan de la Mora William Emmick Jay Hoffman Sarah Kramer Elizabeth Krasner Studio Design Director Shop Director Senior Director, Operations Imaging Director Senior Editor Communications Director

Meredith Mack Adrienne Peñaloza Schuyler Smith Harry Soenksen Yasmin Spiro Paige Adams Chief Financial Officer Marketing Manager Shop Director Senior Director, Technical Marketing Director Senior Interior Designer

Akhil Badjatia Elena Bresciani Ana Maria Flor Ortiz Claire Halpin Thorsten Johann Anu Leinonen Senior Project Leader Senior Project Leader Senior Project Leader Senior Project Leader Senior Project Leader Senior Project Leader

Mauricio Sánchez Aurelien Tsemo Rodia Valladares Sánchez Michan Walker Diana Aguilar Ellen Anderson Senior Project Leader Senior Project Leader Senior Project Leader Senior Project Leader Design Team Member Design Team Member

JT Bachman Susan Bell Abraham Bendheim Chris Bennett Francisco Bolanos Vincent Calabro Design Team Member Executive Assistant Design Team Member Design Team Member 3D & CAD Visualization Project Architect Graphics Specialist

John Castro Kimberly Daul Emma Exley Jason Flores Julcsi Futo Dimitra Gelagoti Project Architect Design Team Member Office Coordinator, New York Project Architect Design Team Member Design Team Member Danny Graham Anna Guthrie Brandon Hall Elizabeth Hamilton Christian Hatten Zachary Heaps IT Manager Office Coordinator, Chicago Project Architect Intern Executive Assistant Project Architect

Jordan Hicks Chase Jordan Maciej Kaczynski Corbin Keech Christina Kull Weiju Lai Design Team Member Design Team Member Design Team Member Project Architect Design Team Member Design Team Member

Will Lambeth Michael Leaveck Emily Licht Arthur Liu Melissa Long Clifton Lyons Project Architect Project Architect Design Team Member Project Architect Design Team Member Executive Assistant

Andrew McGee Lydia Meyer Annette Miller Greta Modesitt Ashley Ozburn Angela Peckham Project Architect Shop Coordinator Design Team Member Design Team Member Project Architect Design Team Member

Gabrielle Poirier Bryan Scheib Stanley Schultz Anika Schwarzwald Katie Stranix Perry Strong Design Team Member Design Team Member Design Team Member Design Team Member Design Team Member Design Team Member

Jean Suh Rolf Temesvari Art Terry Tselanie Townsend Michael Vallera Gabriel Vidal-Hallett Project Architect Design Team Member Design Team Member Staff Accountant Shop Team Member Design Team Member

Amy Vodicka Heinz von Eckartsberg Magda Wala Lindsey Wikstrom Peter Yi Peter Zuroweste HR Generalist Senior Urban Designer Project Architect Design Team Member Design Team Member Design Team Member Company Culture

Studio Gang is more than an architectural and urban design practice—it is a creative hub, a space for experimentation and exploration, a place to learn and grow, and a tight-knit group of colleagues. We work as a collective, valuing contributions from team members at every level and supporting each other personally and professionally through friendship and mentorship. Because the work we do is often intensive, we encourage opportunities to play, to balance work and life, to grow together and individually, and to support our mental and physical health.

The Studio Gang Model Shop The shop is the heart of the Studio—a hands-on space where each of us is encouraged to build, investigate, and explore. The shop touches each project at every phase, using models as tools to push and elevate our designs. We are trained to use the shop’s digital tools but are also encouraged to use our hands whenever possible. The shop allows us to investigate the formal, spatial, and material qualities of our projects both individually and collectively and is a lively communal space that, in addition to supporting our work, facilitates a sense of community.

The Studio Gang Treehouse Our Treehouse is a special space where the Studio meets the city. Set atop the Chicago office, it transforms a formerly empty rooftop into a transparent pavilion nestled in a prairie garden and the surrounding skyline. The space hosts a revolving series of events, both public and private, bringing people together to learn, discuss, create, and celebrate and to share food and drink while immersed in the city.

Outside, the prairie garden is a living laboratory where, supported by our collaborators at Omni Ecosystems and Applied Ecological Services, we are developing ways to cultivate biodiversity in the urban environment. More than 50 varieties of plants and trees have become lush habitat for birds and insects including a colony of honey bees. We are measuring the health and growth of our urban “sky island” using eBird, BioBlitzes, and other ongoing data collection efforts toward building a set of best practice recommendations that can help others create their own ecological green roofs and improve our shared city habitats.

In 2016, we harvested the abundant winter wheat used to facilitate the prairie’s growth, resulting in 65 pounds of high- quality flour, perfect for cookies and pastries.

Camp Wandawega Each year the whole Studio heads out to Elkhorn, Wisconsin’s Camp Wandawega to enjoy camping, hiking, swimming, bonfires, and camaraderie. A Studio Gang tradition since 2012, our annual retreat features special guests who lead us in activities ranging from foraging to drum-making to star-gazing. Camp allows us to commune with nature and each other, refreshing our spirits and improving our ability to work together.

Cooking Together Our state-of-the-art kitchen in the Chicago studio encourages each of us to prepare healthy meals and snacks and to gather together at meal times. For special treats, team members bake cookies, breads, and donuts. These activities strengthen our bonds through food and fellowship.

Bike to Work Week We are firm believers in the benefits of physical activity and each year we participate in Active Transportation Alliance’s Bike to Work Week, a competition that asks each employee to ride to work at least one day during the week. We have received first place in our category since 2011. In 2016, we rode a cumulative 1,200 miles over the course of the competition. Throughout the rest of the year, many team members continue to bike to work and we have a dedicated bike room in the basement of our Chicago studio.

Yoga Wednesdays Every Wednesday in Chicago, we gather together to enjoy yoga in the Treehouse. Led by a friend of the Studio, these sessions help us connect to each other and to ourselves, grounding us spiritually and mentally while strengthening our bodies. In New York, the team enjoys calisthenics each Friday before joining together for snacks and drinks.

Happy Hour Fridays On Fridays at 4 pm, the Studio pauses to tidy our surroundings and join together over snacks and drinks to catch up on what’s happening in our lives, decompress, and strengthen our relationships to each other. The Studio Gang Treehouse provides a natural respite in the city and offers a space for talks, lectures, events, and our weekly yoga classes.

Activities at Camp Wandawega offer opportunities We encourage biking to work and have won the Bike to play and explore together. to Work Week challenge since 2011.

The Studio Gang shop is a lively communal space where team members can build, investigate, and explore together. studiogang.com