Architect Gang Wins MacArthur Genius Grant

By Chuck Sudo in Arts & Entertainment on Sep 20, 2011 1:30PM

Architect Jeanne Gang, whose work combines function, progressive design and sustainable and environmental concerns to usher Chicago architecture into the 21st century, was awarded a 2011 MacArthur Fellowship.

Gang is best known for Aqua, The 82-story mixed-use skyscraper on Columbus Drive. The tallest skyscraper ever designed by a woman, Aqua is known for its undulating, wavelike design, mixed-use philosophy and green touches such as a rainwater collection system, green roof and energy-efficient lighting.

Gang's other local projects include the Lincoln Park Nature Boardwalk, Columbia College's Media Production Center, the upcoming Northerly Island plan, SOS Children's Villages and the Chinese American Service League's Kam Liu Center in Chinatown. Only yesterday Gang was one of two architects named to design four boathouses to be built along the Chicago River as part of a greening and jobs creation initiative announced by Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

The $500,000 "Genius Grant" can be spent in any way Gang wishes to for a five-year period. Gang intimated to the Tribune's Howard Reich she may use the money to underwrite projects not funded by clients of her firm, Studio Gang.